Charmed
by Confession68
Summary: AU: Luffy the mage was hired to save them, but when he destroyed her village during the battle, Nami refused to pay him. Guild policies are harsh, and now she's forced to work to pay off her debt. However, will it come back around on him? LuNa ! COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1: He Was Reckless

**Authors' Note: **

**Con:** Heh, and here I told myself I wasn't going to add anymore to my plate ... and then I went and started RPing with Darth Hawk 32. XP He went slow and was gentle for our first time though ... .///. *Blushes* I think it all came out good in the end though~! ;-)

**Dart:** *Pulls out a cigarette* So it was good for you too? But, yes I was quite satisfied with the end result. I had a lot of fun playing with the interaction between Luffy and Nami, mostly to the detriment of the other characters I was supposed to be playing. The story flowed well, and turned out halfway decent I thought.

**Con:** Half way decent indeed~! ^.~* And it was indeed good for me~! I quite enjoyed it, though I remembered ... that was our second time ... But our first time was really good too~! ;-) Anyways, I guess we should also mention all the characters we played, huh?

**Dart:** True, though I first time was less innuendo and much more lemon. Characters huh? Let's see, I was Luffy and...who else was I supposed to be playing?

**Con:** *Shrugs* Hell if I know ... I couldn't even remember who I was playing half the time ... *Picks nose* I remember I was Nami ...

**Dart:** Then...I remember typing an entry or two for Robin. Mmmmhhhh...Robin... *drifts off to Self-Insert/Robin Lemon fantasy*

**Con:** *Smacks Dart* Concentrate! XO Lesse ... I was also ... Mm, Zoro ... and Gen ... And ... *Thinks real hard* Vivi ... uh ... damn ... The palamino ... Alvida ... Wait ... I was all the frickin' bad guys ... -_- That's the downside of playing opposite of Luffy ... V.V

**Dart:** Indeed. Well, I also had Merry, Sanji, Pell, Igaram, Garp (till you hijacked him)...what else...? No villains...well...one or two I think

**Con:** It would have taken too long to explain what I wanted Garp to do ... -_- *Picks nose* Oyah ... and I was Ace and Dragon ... I almost played most of the men drooling over Nami ... We played and split up the random unimportant people too ... No ... I played all the damned bad guys! DX Oh, and I played Kirby-Uh ... I mean Coby ... ~.~

**Dart:** Hah, nobody's going to get the Kirby joke. But soon! ...as soon as we find someone who edits video. And what can I say? You make a good bad guy.

**Con:** What's that supposed to mean!? T_T *Sniff* You wounds me ... Anyways, I guess there is also the rest of the crew. I also played as Franky and Brook ... XP

**Dart:** Oh yeah, I had Usopp...for all the roles he had. Come to think of it, you also had Chopper.

**Con:** Oh, right ... I sure did. 8O I think that's everyone ... Except, you also had Nojiko ... Anyways, now that that is all out of the way ... I think we can finally let these poor folks read the first chapter! 8D

**Dart**: Do we have to?

**Con:** *Sigh* Yeah ... we have to ... I don't think they want to read too much of an A/N ... However sad that is ... T_T

**Dart:** T_T

**Con:** Heh, anyways, we both hope you enjoy the fic just as much we enjoyed making it together~! ^.~* Bow chika wow wow~!

**Dart:** Giggitty.

**Charmed**

**Chapter 1: He Was Reckless**

Storming over to him with her long skirt swirling about her legs and her bust bouncing within her tight bodice and almost overflowing the top, Nami whirled to face his front, hands on her hips and her long orange braid swinging to the front, "What the hell was that?"

Picking his nose, Luffy inspected his findings before flicking it away. He then used his other finger to dig in his ear for wax, "What was what? I did what you paid me to do."

"You destroyed our entire village in the process!" Nami yelled at him, completely enraged, "We didn't hire you to destroy our village - only to get rid of that infamous sorcerer!"

"Infamous?" Luffy inspected his finger for ear wax, "Who the hell actually uses that word?"

"Are you not listening to me?" Nami screeched, slapping his hand away from his face, "You know what? Forget it! There's no way we're paying you for this! We'll take it out for damages!" She said, whirling on her heel to storm off again.

Luffy's brow twitched. "Not paying me?" He grabbed her arm, "The hell do you think you're saying?"

"Exactly what I just told you!" She said, ripping her arm away from him, "Look at this mess! You cost us more in damages than what we were going to pay you! You can forget it!" She said, turning back around again.

"You can't do that to me!" He grabbed Nami's arm again, "Do you have any idea what my grandfather is going to do to me?"

"Probably nothing as bad as what I'm going to do to you if you don't stop grabbing my arm! I really don't care about what happens to you! You should have thought about that before being so reckless with our village, you idiot!" She yelled, snatching her arm back again.

Luffy's eyebrow twitched again, "Well, guess I need some kind of compensation for my work." Without warning, he grabbed Nami again, only this time he threw her over his shoulder, and made a break for his horse and bag.

"Wha-Wha-Wait a minute! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Nami exclaimed, beginning to pound on his back and kick her feet, her bust almost falling out of her bodice, "Put me down!"

"Forget that," Luffy smacked her bottom to get her to stop struggling. "You won't pay me? Then I'll just take you instead."

Nojiko looked up from the ruins of her and Nami's home, when she heard her sister yelling. She saw the mercenary carrying her off, "_Hey_!" She yelled, running after Nami and her kidnapper, "_What are you doing_?"

"Aah, Na-chan!" Gen yelled, running after them as well as he drew his sword, "You let go of our, Na-chan!"

"Stop it, you reckless, idiotic jerk! Put me down!" Nami yelled, trying her hardest to get him to put her down again.

"Down? Okay," Luffy threw her onto the back of his horse, smacked her behind again, "Behave," he said as he jumped onto his horse, and wheeled around, taking off out of the village ruins.

"Hey!" Nojiko ran faster, pulling her skirt up to her knees, "Leave my sister!"

Feeling a bit fearful, Nami looked up in concern to her sister chasing after them, though she was becoming smaller and smaller. Scowling, she then looked up at him, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Kidnapping you," Luffy said, looking down at the girl on the horse in front of him. "What does it look like?"

"_Nami_!" Nojiko tripped, and pushed herself up. Her sister and the mage had already disappeared from view around the hills. She picked herself up and took off after them again. "_Nami_!"

Even though she could no longer see her sister, she could still hear her. Tears came to her eyes before scowling again to look back up at him, "You're out of your mind! You take me back right now!"

"Mmm ... nope," he grinned down at her. "I'm keeping you." He glanced behind him; there was no sign of any pursuit.

"Wha-Wha-What the hell for?" She screamed up at him, her tears beginning to gather more.

He shrugged. "Dunno. I'm sure I'll think of something."

"Wha-What do you _mean_, you'll think of something?" Nami exclaimed, scowling up at him deeper, "You just took me just to take me?"

He thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, pretty much."

Nojiko finally managed to get to the bend in the road leading around the hill. But her sister was already gone. Collapsing to her knees she screamed, the anguish of her heart clear in her voice. She cried, her tears streaming down her face, and into her bodice.

Stopping beside Nojiko, Gen gently kneeled own beside her, "We'll get her back ... You'll see..."

Nojiko looked up at Gen, her eyes full of tears. "Gen-san..." she hiccupped, wiping her tears off with her sleeve. "Yeah ..." She stood up, and looked down the road her sister had disappeared down.

"You-You-You ... i_diot_! You take me back right now!" Nami screeched, beginning to struggle anew, startling the horse.

"Nope," He regained control over his horse, and guided him between the trees. "How many more times do I have to say that?"

"You have no right to do this!" She screamed, trying to hit him somehow.

He held her down with his left hand. "Stop that," he glanced around to make sure he was following the right trail. "Do you want me to spank you again?"

"I don't want you doing anything! I want you to take me back right now! Why are you doing this?" She exclaimed, still trying to get off the horse, but his grip was strong, holding her down against it.

"Stop asking difficult questions," she wasn't strong enough to break free from him, not even close, but her struggling was getting annoying. Lifting his hand he brought it down against her behind again. "And stop moving!"

"Aah!" She cried to the spank, feeling her cheeks flush a bit as her fear rose, "How is that question difficult?"

"I dunno," he shrugged. "I just felt like taking you, so I did."

"Because you _felt_ like it!" She screeched before swinging her arm back, which hurt a bit, but it was worth it as it smacked him across the face, causing the horse to rear, knocking both off. Getting up quickly, she then kicked him for good measure before running back in the direction of her village, using the trees for cover.

Once he'd gotten his breath back, Luffy jumped up and took off after the girl. Muttering a quick incantation, he stretched his arm out after her. It missed, but he caught a tree in front of her, and shot off after her, his arm pulling him in. Gasping at the arm, her eyes widened as she looked at it, but didn't stop running. He barreled right into her back, tackling her to the ground. He groaned and swore; turning her onto her back to make sure that she wasn't badly hurt.

Groaning as a hand went to her head, she blinked her eyes open before swallowing her tears down, though they began to bunch at the corners of her eyes, "You're not going to get away with this ..." She managed to whisper as her throat closed, "One day ... it's going to come back around on you ... You just watch ..."

"We'll see when that happens. You're not hurt are you?" He checked over her body for any serious injuries. He felt her arms, and then checked for broken ribs. They all seemed fine. Her sternum didn't feel broken either. Well, she did have pretty good padding for that. Gasping loudly, Nami stiffened when he began to feel her up before closing her eyes with a groan and expecting the worst. "Are you hurt?" He repeated, moving down to check her legs.

"No, I'm fine! Stop touching me!" She said, shoving his hands away from her and sitting up, though she winced a bit from her bruised bosoms.

Luffy noticed a slight bruising on her chest. "Are you sure? It looks like your chest is hurt." He reached out to feel if she was hurt there.

Gasping, she slapped his hand away before hugging her chest tightly, though wincing a bit from the pressure to the bruise, "Don't you dare touch me!"

"Geez, what's wrong with you?" He frowned. "I only wanted to make sure you weren't hurt."

"First you kidnap me, hurt me, touch me to check to see if I'm hurt, _and then ask me what's wrong with me_? You idiot!" She yelled, grabbing a handful of dirt and throwing it into his face, "What the hell is wrong with _you_?"

"Aah," he swore, rubbing the dirt from his eyes. "You're the one that didn't pay me!"

"You _destroyed_ our village! You destroyed my home! Those costs far outweighed your pay, you stupid idiot!" She cried, tears streaming down her face as she shoved him hard.

"Yeah," he pouted, "well I got rid of the guy who was terrorizing you. And you're worried more about the damage to your village, part of which was his fault?"

"_Most of it was caused by your recklessness_!" She screamed, "And you can't just take people because they didn't pay you!"

"Really? My family does it all the time."

"Well, your family is stupid too! How the hell are you getting away with taking people?" And most importantly, what do they do with them after they take them?

"Cuz we're strong," What a strange girl. Wasn't it obvious? No one bothered them, because everyone was afraid of their strength.

"That doesn't," she hit his chest, "matter! You're supposed to use that strength to," she hit him again, "_protect_ people!" Tears began to stream down her face as she hit him again, "Not take them as prisoners!"

He blinked. "Wasn't that what I was doing earlier?"

"You destroyed out lively-hoods, and then kidnapped me, you jerk!" She said, whipping her hand out to slap him across the face.

"Ow," he muttered, rubbing his cheek. "But I took out the bad guy."

"Aaah!" She screamed out in frustration, "You stupid jerk!"

He stuck his tongue out at her. "Frustrating bitch."

Screaming again, she attempted to hit him a second time as more tears came to her eyes in her anger and frustration. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her, using the spell while it still lasted. He picked her up and started trekking back to his horse. Hopefully, it hadn't gotten too far away. Gasping, she then cried out, beginning to struggle in his arms, "Let me go!"

"I already said no, so stop asking." He saw his horse ahead of them, brought his fingers to his mouth and whistled. His horse looked up and started walking further away from him. "Dammit," Luffy picked up the pace, taking off after the horse.

Screaming, she began to pound harder against his back, "Let me go, damn it! You jerk! You're going to pay for this!"

"Stop that! I'm trying to catch my horse!" He sped up, but the horse was getting away.

"Good! I hope he gets away!"

"Yeah?" He shifted her so her weight wasn't as awkward. "Well he's got my supplies on him, so if I don't catch him, we don't eat."

"I don't care!" She said, still struggling and giving him as much trouble as she could manage.

"Aaaa-nd, shit!" He slowed down. The horse had sped up and was long gone.

Nami burst into laughter, though her tears muffled it, "You jerk!"

"Well ... guess that's no dinner for us." His stomach growled as he looked behind them. "Think we could find something in your village?"

She smirked, "Sure."

He thought about it. "No ... no that wouldn't work ... 'cuz then they'd try to take you from me ..." He scratched his head. "I wonder if I can find something in the forest." He looked down at Nami. "Do you know how to cook?"

"I'm not cooking anything for you!"

"How about for yourself?"

"I'll cook for myself!"

"How about getting food for yourself?"

"Fine, then I don't need to eat!"

"Fine, you'll be easier to carry then." He lifted her over his shoulder again and started walking in the direction his horse took off to.

"Well, at least I don't have to walk this way!" She yelled back at him, giving his back a hit.

"Stop that," he shifted her weight.

"Why should I?" She yelled, still struggling in his grasp.

He sighed. What could he do to make her cooperate? Let's see ... what did he know about girls ...? Not much admittedly, but still ... He remembered that a lot of them didn't like people seeing them naked. He had the scars to show for it. "If you don't stop, then I'm taking your clothes away, and forcing you to march the rest of the way naked." There, that should work.

Gasping and stiffening, her eyes widened as her body went still, but then she clamped her teeth down, "You ... You ... disgusting ..." However, she didn't finish her sentence, though she had a lot to say.

"There, that's better," he kept walking. "And if you cooperate now, not only won't I take your dress away, but I'll also keep carrying you, since you don't want to walk."

"Even if you put me down ... I wouldn't walk ..." She seethed, clamping her teeth down hard.

"Bet I could make you." He muttered another spell. His free index finger stretched out, and he whipped it at the air in front of them. It made a sharp cracking sound as it snapped back.

She really, really hated this man, "You're disgusting!"

"Shishishi, glad to please."

"Aagh!" She exclaimed in disgust.

They walked for the rest of the day, and as the sun was about to go down, Luffy found them a good place to camp. He set Nami down and started gathering firewood. "Don't run away."

Huffing, she crossed her arms under her chest, causing them to push up over the top of the bodice a bit more, "No promises!"

He rolled his eyes, but kept her in his sight as he gathered up wood. He piled the sticks so that the smaller kindling was underneath the bigger sticks, and muttered a small incantation. A tiny spark caught the kindling, and within moments he had a good fire going. "I'm not very good at fire spells," he commented. "That little spark is about all I can do. My brother is much better though. He could burn down an entire town by himself if he wanted to."

"Yes, but you do just as well at destroying towns _without_ the fire ..." She retorted, scowling at him deeply.

"Not really," he prodded at the fire with a stick. "I left ruins."

Scoffing, she quickly turned her head away from him in disgust, "You sicken me ..."

"How about now?" He said, stretching his lips as wide as possible. Out of all his spells, turning his body into rubber was the one that came to him the most naturally, and he could use them at a moment's notice, sometimes without the whole incantations. With a few of his attacks, all he needed was to name them.

"It doesn't matter what you do - you'd still sicken me ..." She said, not bothering to look at him.

"Awww," he let go of his lips, and they snapped back into place. "Well, time for dinner." He muttered another spell, one that he used a lot. Soon a deer wandered into their campsite, stepping through the trees as if guided by another will. As soon as he saw it, and before the spell wore off, Luffy shot his hand out and grabbed the deer, snapping its neck and pulling it towards him. Glancing over towards the deer, her eyes narrowed a bit, but then she looked away again.

Once Luffy was certain the animal was dead, he pulled his knife from his belt, and started to skin the animal. He cut around the skin just above the hooves, and then dragged his blade up the inside of the legs. He took the knife and an edge of the fur and started scrapping it with his blade, separating it from the flesh.

Then once he'd got that done, he paused. "Oh yeah, forgot that," he muttered, and slit the animal's throat, allowing the blood to drain.

He carefully cut the animal's belly, careful not to cut past the fur. He continued scraping until the skin had been removed from the carcass. After he'd set the fur aside, he'd scrape it dry later and hopefully still be able to use the fur for a while, he cut open the stomach and removed the organs. There was surprisingly little blood, as most of it had already drained through the slit in the neck. He deposited the organs a ways away from their campsite, to make sure that no animals would be attracted to where they were sleeping.

Well ... she'd be sleeping. After all of this was done, he cut the legs off, and separated the ribs from the body, arranging all the meat on sticks to be cooked separately around the fire, the sticks arranged around it at an angle. Wincing, Nami turned completely away as he did all of this, not at all wanting to know how it's done, though she could still hear it, which made her feel a little nauseous.

Now done preparing the meal and having set it up to cook, Luffy leaned back to wait for it to finish cooking. Every once in a while, he would adjust the meat, to make sure it was fully cooked. She could smell the simmering venison, and her stomach growled a bit. Flushing and pursing her lips, she wrapped her arms around herself to muffle out any further sound. Luffy glanced over at the orange haired girl, "Not going to eat, huh," and then he snickered.

"Leave me alone ..." She muttered quietly under her breath as she turned away from him. Once the meat was ready, Luffy pulled out two of the sticks, sticking one in his mouth, gasping and pulling it out to blow on it, and handing the other one to her. Sighing a bit, she took the stick from him and blew on it softly before taking a bite.

Luffy popped another one in his mouth, followed by another one, the sticks still sticking in his mouth. "Oh yeah, what's your name?" He asked her around the sticks.

"Why should I tell you ...?" She muttered, grabbing two sticks before he ate them all and began gnawing on the chewy meat.

"Well ... I can't just call you, 'hey you' all the time, now can I?" He grabbed another stick. There were only two left. He grabbed the second to the last one.

Grabbing the last one, she said, "Sure you can ..."

"Hmph," he snorted. "I bet it's a really ugly name anyway." He sighed into the fire. They were out of food.

"You can think that all you want." She exclaimed in annoyance as she finished the last one.

"Fine, then I won't tell you my name either," he pouted.

"I don't care if you won't tell me, _Luffy_ ... You idiot ... I'm the one that hired you ..." She scoffed, finding that a little amusing.

Luffy blinked, then crossed his arms and leaned back against the tree stump he was sitting against. "Dammit," he muttered, pouting even further.

Stretching her arms out and stressing her bodice, she then curled up a bit on the ground, "Now, if you don't mind ... I'm a little tired ..." She said, closing her eyes for sleep.

"Yeah, yeah," he sighed, and closed his eyes. Quite a while later and he still hadn't fallen asleep. He wondered why he'd bothered taking the girl. It wasn't like she could be replaced for the payment he'd lost. His grandfather would ... He shuddered, not wanting to think about it. Even if he'd taken the girl to replace what they hadn't paid him, he still couldn't go back empty handed. Where was he going to get the money?

xxxx

Nami blinked her eyes open the next morning and realized she was a bit damp from the dewy morning. Shivering from the cold, she sat up with a frown on her face. Her clothes were completely sticking to her skin.

Luffy opened his eyes when he heard the girl moving. "Good morning," he muttered grumpily.

"Yeah? What's so good about it?" She grouched before standing up to try pulling at her clothes a bit. Her bodice was completely sticking to her.

"Hmph," he muttered. His eyes wandered to her bodice. "Impractical," he muttered.

"Who're you calling impractical? And what the hell are you wearing? I've never seen a guy wear a dress before!" She exclaimed at him before turning around.

"It's a mage's robe," he snapped at her back. "Bitch," he muttered, turning over onto his side with his back to her.

"Asshole!" She retorted before looking around them before shivering again and sneezing. She was rather cold.

"Yeah," he smirked, rolling over to look at her. "At least this asshole is dry."

"Like I had a choice, because _you_, as in the _asshole_, took me away from my home yesterday with whatever clothes I had on my back!" She yelled, kicking dirt all over him.

He glared down at the dirt, then up at her, and snapped his fingers. The dirt on him, and then some, flew towards her, pelting her and sticking to her moist clothes and skin.

"Aah!" She cried out before growling, feeling her frustration rising with some tears, "You ... _stupid asshole_!" She screamed, turning her teary eyed scowl at him.

"What?" He glared back at her. "You want to fight?"

Grinding her teeth as more tears began to develop, she then just turned her back on him and walked off a bit, wiping quickly at her eyes. She wanted to go home. He frowned as she started walking away. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Nowhere!" She yelled over her shoulder before plopping down on a log away from him.

He snorted. He was hungry, and tired. He, food, and ... but first things first. He reached into his pack and pulled out a small flask. He swallowed a mouthful and packed the flask away. There, that should give him the energy he needed. He stood up and faltered. He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up. His body was slowly falling apart. His strength wasn't what it should be. That strange sorcerer Arlong had given him much more trouble than he should have. To think that he, Luffy, who had defeated the greatest thunder mage in the world, the self proclaimed God Enel, would have trouble with a second rate excuse for a mage like Arlong.

Well, he thought, food first ... Actually ... He glanced over at the girl. He felt bad for her. Of course she'd refused to pay him. Hence the kidnapping, but she didn't deserve his morning attitude. He repeated a quick incantation, and snapped his fingers. Her clothes instantly dried, the once moist dirt falling off. Gasping and jumping slightly, she looked down at herself before frowning and looking over her shoulder at him. After awhile, she closed her eyes and turned away, but not before muttering, "Thanks ..."

"No problem," he chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry about earlier. I'm ... not a morning person."

"I couldn't tell ..." She muttered, crossing her arms under her bodice as she frowned deeper, but kept her back to him.

He sighed and closed his eyes. Moments later a fairly large bird, he wasn't sure which kind, fell from the sky. He opened his eyes. "Ah, breakfast."

Turning around, Nami just blinked at the bird, "Where did ... that come from?"

"Huh? The sky," he pointed up. He then leaned down and picked up the dead bird, starting to pluck out its feathers. She continued to blink before huffing and turning back around. Once he'd finished plucking the bird, he set up a spit to cook it on the fire. As the bird was roasting, he pulled out his water flask and drank from it. He then held it out to the girl, "Here."

Turning around, she looked down at the flask and made a face about having to share his germs, but stood up to get it anyways, seeing as she was rather thirsty. Taking a gulp, she then handed it back to him before going back to sit at her log. Nami sighed and leaned forward over the log. How was she going to get out of this?

Luffy sighed and leaned back, closing his eyes. But he soon opened them, he didn't want to get moody again, something that always happened whenever he tried to get to sleep for too long. Money, money, he needed money or coming back home was out of the question. So, he needed to find a job, which meant they needed to find a village. And while they were at that, he could rent another horse for now until he got his horse back, though he'd much prefer to just find his old one.

Luffy sniffed the bird, and stuck his knife in it to check if it was done. Hot juices boiled out of the hole his knife made. Not ready just yet. The bird was beginning to smell really good, and her stomach once again growled, though she was further away this time. Looking around, she blinked when she spotted an animal in the distance. Though, she realized it was grazing, "Mm ... ain't that your horse ...?"

"Eh?" He jumped up and looked. "No way!" Running after the horse and grabbing a tree stump, he shouted, "Rocket!" and flew off after the animal. He managed to grab it and calm it down. Once he'd calmed the animal, he rode it back to the campsite. However, Nami was nowhere in sight.

Luffy blinked at the empty campsite. "Oh, just great," he swore, smacking his face with his open palm. Well, there was only one way she could have gone. He started heading back towards her village after picking up the cooked bird and eating it from horseback.

Looking behind her, Nami smiled as she headed in the opposite direction of her village. All she had to do was make it to another village and get help. Then she would be able to go home. She knew the idiot would be stupid enough to think she would head back home.

With his horse, he made better time and had soon made it all the way back to the village, but frowned. He should have caught up to her by now. Well, he'd just wait here. If she'd hidden on the roadside, she'd be back this way. He'd just catch her when she made her way back there.

xxxx

Making it to the neighboring village, Nami broke into a run with a smile on her face and a bit of tears. She'd half expected him to find her. She looked around for anyone she thought might help her.

Sanji threw the belligerent customer out of the bar he was working in. "Sanji!" The owner yelled at him. "That's enough! You cause more trouble here than you're worth! Get out!"

"Che," Sanji spat as he left his latest place of employment. He kept trying to find new places to work, but he always got laid off because of his attitude, never mind his skill.

Turning slightly, Nami frowned before crying out as she bumped into someone, "Ah, I'm sorry!"

"Watch where you're...!" Sanji caught a better view of who he'd run into, and let the sound of her voice drift to his ears, "Oh, I'm terribly sorry mademoiselle~! Please forgive this horrid wretch for causing harm to a radiant being such as yourself~!"

"Ah!" She said with a crooked and nervous smile as she held up her hands, "I-It's okay ... I-I wasn't ... watching where I was going ..."

"Mellorine~!" Sanji squiggled at her smile. "Your smile is truly magnificent~!"

Beginning to laugh nervously, she then scratched the back of her head before perking. Perhaps she could use this to her advantage. Smiling a little more seductively, she said, "Mm, you wouldn't mind helping me with a teensy weensy problem, would you?"

"Anything, my Goddess," he said in full love - love mode.

"You see ... there's this ... sorcerer guy ... and he seems to think it's okay to kidnap poor, helpless girls ... like myself." She pressed a hand to her bosom, which he didn't fail to see, nor react to, "Do you think you could protect little ol' me?" She asked, tapping her finger up his chest to his chin with her other hand.

Sanji's aura suddenly flared to life. "Unforgivable! This wretch will surely be sent straight to hell by me!"

Nami beamed, "Wonderful~~! I need to get home, but I'm afraid he might find me."

"Of course, dearest," Sanji bowed deeply. "I would gladly follow you to the ends of the earth."

"Good!" She said, clapping her hands together and then said, "You got a horse?"

"Of course~!" He led her to the stable where he kept his animal. "Perhaps I could learn your name, fairest maiden?"

"Ah, my name is ... Isabella ..." She said, laughing nervously. She really didn't want to give her real name to this guy.

"Ah Isabella-swan~!" He swooned, and bowed to her, holding his hands out to help her onto his horse. Chuckling nervously, she allowed him to lift her onto the horse, and she stilled herself as he mounted behind her. "Yeah," he directed his horse out of the village. "Which way Isabella-swan?"

"That way." She said, pointing in the direction of her village.

"Right," He spurred his horse, and they set off at a strong pace down the road towards her village.

xxxx

Luffy sighed. What was taking her so long? He happened to glance up after a while, and saw a familiar orange head of hair riding towards the village, along with another man, "Huh …"

Gasping, Nami instinctively clutched onto Sanji's shirt and even leaned into him a bit, "That's him ...!"

Sanji's eyes narrowed. This skinny looking mage was giving Isabella-san so much trouble? He slowed his horse, reigning in before Luffy. "Hey, you shitty bastard, the hell are you going around kidnapping women for?"

Luffy frowned. "I only kidnapped her, because she didn't pay me when she was supposed to."

"And you think that gives you the right to just take her?" Sanji fumed, scowling at the smaller mage.

Nami clutched at Sanji a little tighter, but then slipped off the horse, "I'll leave you to it!" She said before running back towards her village.

"Oye," Luffy reached out to stop Nami, only to have to dodge out of the way when the blonde man jumped at him with a flying kick. "Oye! You're in my way!"

"I will always be in the way of shitty bastards who kidnap women and do whatever the hell they want to them!" Sanji landed on the ground, between Luffy and the village.

Nojiko heard a commotion near the entrance to the village. She ran out with what she had been able to pack in her hands. "Nojiko!" Nami cried, tears coming to her eyes as she ran towards her sister.

Hearing Nami's voice, Gen dropped his things before running to her as well, "Na-chan!"

Nojiko gasped, running towards her sister, throwing her arms around her. "Oh, Nami! I thought we'd lost you forever!" She cried into her sister's hair.

Nami began to laugh and cry at the same time, "I didn't think I would ever get home either!"

Luffy groaned. This blonde man was strong, but not as strong as he once was. He'd be toast if he could use his giant's magic, but as it was now, he was having some trouble.

Sanji never knew a mage to be this resilient to physical beatings. If he didn't hurry this could turn out badly for him. What kind of magic was this? Sanji had never seen a mage with magic so focused on using the body.

"Pistol!" Luffy yelled, and a moment later, "Whip!" Sanji dodged the fist, but was caught by the leg, which sent him flying into a collapsed building.

"Gattling!" Luffy yelled. This spell multiplied both the speed and number of his fists, pounding the downed fighter further into the building. Once he'd finished, the man was down for the count. "Idiot," he yelled at the unconscious man. "I'm Luffy, the greatest rubber mage to ever exist! You're a fool to think that your simple fighter kicks would be enough to defeat me. I didn't even feel them!"

Gasping, Nami just gaped at the building before turning to Luffy in horror. Then she turned to her sister, "Run!" She said before turning her and running with her. Gen stood in their path, holding up his sword to Luffy. However, Luffy just sighed and stomped the ground, sending tremors through it. "Guwah!" Gen exclaimed, losing his balance and falling to the ground.

Crying out, Nami fell forward from the trimmer, clutching onto Nojiko and burying her face into her neck. Nojiko gasped, holding onto her sister tightly. Luffy walked past the man, sighing. "I'm starting to think you're more trouble than you're worth. Or something like that. But you know … if you'd only paid me when you were supposed to, I wouldn't have to do this." He reached out and grabbed the orange haired woman by her arm. "Let's go, Isabella."

"Let go of me! It's your own fault for destroying our village! You have no right!" Nami screamed, fighting him hard. Gen quickly stood, grabbing his sword as he ran at Luffy.

"Let go of our Na-chan!"

Luffy back roundhouse kicked the scarred man out of the way. "You did see how easily I beat that guy, right? I've got all the right I want." He blinked. "Wait, that Ossan called you Na-chan ... How did he get that from Isabella?"

"That's none of your business! You let go of me, right now!" Nami yelled, whipping her hand out to slap him.

Luffy took the slap and sighed. His power really was diminishing; the fact that the slap hurt was proof of that. Was this girl really worth the trouble? He could just find the money elsewhere... No, he had to set an example--no one could be allowed to cheat them. Otherwise, they'd never get paid and people would start losing respect for their guild. "It's really easy, just pay me what you owe me, and I'll leave you. Until then, you're staying with me."

"Pay for what you destroyed, and I may consider it!" She said, throwing a punch this time.

"Sorry, no can do, haven't been paid," Luffy whistled to himself after dodging the punch and knocking people that tried to rescue the woman out of the way.

"Let go!" She screamed, pulling at her arm as tears began to build. Just when she'd made it home, "Let me go, you crazy asshole!"

Sighing again, Luffy pulled her towards his horse. "Now we have to make up for lost time. Oh well, at least we have the horse this time."

"I said let go!" Nami screamed, pulling harder, her bosom almost coming out from her bodice. However, this time, her voice quivered with tears wanting to be shed.

"Listen," Luffy yanked at her arm. "You don't know what will happen if I go back empty handed. And even worse, what will happen if people start thinking they can just cheat us out of our pay. This is your own fault, so just deal with it!"

Nojiko threw herself against her sister's abductor. But he recovered quickly and tossed her aside. "Aah," she cried out as she hit the ground.

"Nojiko!" Nami cried before hitting him, "You despicable, horrible, disgusting man! You're the one who can't do his job right!"

Luffy staggered from the blow. He was getting too weak. His eyes started to close ... Wait, was he ... nah ... couldn't be. He shook the weakness off and threw the woman over the horse, climbing on behind her. "Don't care. You're still coming with me."

"No, I will not!" She screamed, trying to get off the horse, more tears beginning to spill, "You are not doing this to me!"

He sighed. "You're really tiresome, you know that?" He muttered a sleeping spell incantation, and placed his hand over her eyes, as he wheeled the horse around and left the village. "Wish I could do that to myself." He muttered to himself.

Breathing deeply, Nami fought the suddenly sleepiness that began to wash over her, "No..." She whispered, her face scrunching up as more tears fell, "Please ..." She whispered, her voice quivering before her eyes closed, and she fell asleep.

"Nami!" Nojiko ran after the departing horse, in a situation so similar to yesterday. But again it outdistanced her.

'_Nami, huh_? _So her name isn't Isabella_?' Luffy looked down at the girl. '_Strange girl._' He made sure to increase the pace, this time covering more distance than the other day.

"Na-chan!" Gen cried, running after them as well before catching up to Nojiko, "Damn it, not again!"

"We have to keep going after them," Nojiko insisted. "We can't lose her. I've got everything ready."

"Right!" Gen said with a nod before running back towards the destroyed village, but then looked over towards where the young man had been. Climbing inside the rubble, he tried to dig him out, "Oye! You okay in there?"

"Ugh," Sanji groaned. "Where's the monster that hit me?"

"He ... He left with our Na-chan ..." Gen said, lowering his head with a sad frown.

Sanji blinked. "Who's Na-chan?"

"Our Na-chan! The girl you brought back here ..." Gen said, frowning at him softly.

"Huh? That was Isabella-swan ..." He blinked again. His head was hurting like hell and he felt like he had a concussion.

"Isabella?" Gen blinked down at him before throwing his head back with laughter, though it slowly died down, "Ah, our Na-chan ... She lied to ya, boy ... Her name's not Isabella ... It's Nami ..."

"Eh?" Sanji tried to stand up. "I see ... but why ...?"

"Our Na-chan has always been a smart and wary girl. She might not have trusted ya enough ..." Gen explained to the boy, holding out a hand to him to help him out of the rubble.

Sanji took the man's hand, and stood up. "I don't understand, what's going on here? Why did that shitty mage take Isa- ... I mean Nami-san?"

Sighing deeply, Gen then looked down at the rubble they were standing on, and then at the rubble of the rest of the town, "Na-chan hired that _shitty_ mage to get rid of another mage that was causing havoc for our village ... But that shitty mage destroyed our town in the process, and our Na-chan refused to pay him ... so ... he just took her instead ..."

Sanji's aura ignited again, his injures instantly forgotten. "That bastard! To kidnap a maiden is despicable in any circumstance, but for such low reasons! I must chase after them and free her from his clutches!" He took off towards his horse.

"Ah, wait!" Gen called, jumping down and running after him, "We're going after her too! We can all go together!"

"Do you have horses?" Sanji asked, turning to look at the man.

"Ah ... we got one ..." Gen replied, rubbing the back of his head, "Nojiko can ride with me ..."

"Eh? Nojiko?" Sanji climbed onto his horse once they reached it.

"Nojiko is there." Gen said, pointing to the periwinkle headed woman waiting for them, "She is Na-chan's sister."

Sanji's eyes turned to hearts when he caught sight of the beautiful woman. "Mellorine~!"

"Gen-san, hurry!" Nojiko yelled towards them.

"Ah, what an angelic beauty, so concerned for her sister's well being." Sanji wiggled on top of the horse, entering love - love mode again.

"Right ..." Gen said, mounting his horse and heading to Nojiko while holding his hand out to her.

Nojiko climbed up behind Gen on the horse. "Ah, sweet angel, perhaps this humble mortal could share his transportation with you?" Sanji's eyes beat to the same rhythm as his heart.

"Eh ... what?" Nojiko blinked. "Gen-san," she whispered. "Who is this strange man?"

"Aah, he's going to help us get Na-chan back." Gen replied before ignoring Sanji and taking off after Nami, "What's your name anyways, boy?"

"Ah," Sanji sped up after them. "It's Sanji, sir, renowned chef and fighter for the weak ... and beautiful."

"Sanji, is it?" Gen said with a nod, "Name's Gen. It's nice to meet you, boy ..."

"A pleasure to meet you sir," Sanji said, switching back to serious mood, only to switch back to ero mode when he glanced back at Nojiko.

"Right ..." Gen said, holding Nojiko to him protectively. He was a weird one.

**To Be Continued …**

**Authors' Note: Con:** So? What did you guys think of our first chapter!? XD

**Darth:** Be honest.

**Random Voice:** It sucked!

**Darth:** Not that honest...

**Con:** *Sacks the honest person and throws them into a river* So, really? XD What did you think? XD *Crickets* Uh ...

**Darth:** Humm...

**Con:** Ah well ... hopefully ... they will eventually let us know ... THROUGH REVIEWS! XD Anyways, thanks for reading you guys~! ;-)

**Darth:** See you next chapter. :-D

**P.S. **We completely forgot to show you what they were wearing! XD Luffy is actually wearing something similar to what the main character of Assassin's Creed wears, only in red! XD It's also got it's differences though, haha. Just do a search on it. As for Nami, well, her's was described. Just do a search on bodice! XD


	2. Chapter 2: She Works

**Author's note:** **Con:** So, Dart jipped out on editing this chapter. So if yuo find any mistakes, it's his fault. ;-)

**Dart:** Ich habe vergassen wie man Englisch spricht. Also koennte ich dieses Kapitel nicht korigieren.

**Con:** What was that? *Cups hand to ear* You were too busy reading Negima? Yeah, so you told me! XP

**Dart:** Me no speak english anymore.

**Con:** Oooh, you're a dork. I completely understand. XP Well, with no further ado, you guys are welcome to read the next chapter, unless Dart wants to speak more German to us! XD

**Dart:** Bliztkrieg! Sieg Heil!

**Con:** On with the chapter! XD

**Charmed**

**Chapter 2: She Works**

Luffy set the girl, Isabella, Nami? … whatever, against a log, trying to make sure to do it gently. Once he'd done that, he set about to getting the fire started and a new animal ready for dinner. Groaning some time later, Nami's face scrunched up a bit before her eyes slowly opened. She had a bit of a headache, and she was a bit confused as to why she was asleep. She didn't remember falling asleep. "Wakey, wakey," Luffy said from where he was cooking dinner. "Time to wake up, sleeping beauty."

Gasping, she immediate sat up and turned to the hooded man, cooking some meat over the fire. However, she would recognize that voice anywhere. Beginning to scowl, she grabbed a nearby rock and threw it at him, "You sick jerk!"

He caught the rock and tossed it behind him. "The insults are getting old ... stuck up brat," he muttered the last bit.

"Stuck up brat!?" She screeched, standing up then, though she swayed, "How dare you!? Y-You have no right at all!"

"You keep saying that," he raised an eyebrow at her unsteady legs. "It's getting annoying."

"I don't really care what you think! You really expect me to _not_ be annoying!? You expect me to me _nice_ to someone like you!? You're a lot dumber than I thought!" She yelled, grabbing another rock and throwing it. However, her head spun, and she collapsed to the ground, "Mm ..."

Luffy dodged the rock, and walked over to where she had collapse. "You shouldn't move too much," he said, helping her up. "The spell will leave you disoriented. You'll need to sleep off the effects."

"L-Leave me alone! D-Don't ... touch me!" She said, trying to shove him away, but she collapsed back to the ground, her breathing becoming a little deeper, and her face slightly flushed. A cold sweat had also begun to develop over her.

He frowned, and reached to touch her forehead. "Strange, that's not supposed to happen ..."

"D-Don't ... touch me ...!" She said, shoving his hand away.

"Hold still," he muttered, checking her pulse.

"Don't touch ..." She whispered weakly, slumping against him with a groan. She really didn't feel good, "What did ... you do to ... me ...?"

"I cast a sleep spell on you," he supported her weight, laying her down nearer the fire. "I'm not sure what gave you this fever."

"It's your ... fault ... somehow ..." She said before closing her eyes, her chest heaving with her heavy pants.

"Impossible," he muttered. "The spell doesn't have any side effects. Though, it's possibly a result of stress."

Moaning softly, she muttered something incoherent that might have been, 'stupid', but she was slipping in and out of consciousness. With a sigh Luffy laid out his cloak and wrapped her up in it. Rummaging through his bag, he pulled out a pouch of herbs and looked inside them. Fortunately, he had all the ones he needed, crushing them and mixing them with some water he'd boiled. "Here," he said, holding Nami's head up. "Drink this."

Her brows softly dipped as she opened her eyes, though both looked groggy, "What is this ...?"

"It's a potion, it will make you feel better," he held the liquid up against her lips.

Still looking suspicious of him, she then brought her lips up to it before drinking. However, she coughed at the foul taste and made a face, "Taste ... horrible ...!"

"Really?" Luffy dipped a finger into the residue at the bottom of the cup. He liked his finger and gagged. "Gack!" He stuck out his tongue, trying to spit the taste out of his mouth. "Horrible!"

Her brows dipped further, "If I die ... I swear I will haunt you until you do ..."

"You won't die," he tossed the cup onto his pack. "The potion should start working soon." He checked the meat. "Besides, I know a good exorcist, so I'm not too worried about ghosts haunting me."

"I would ... give your ... exorcist a run ... for his money ..." She scoffed, putting a bit more attitude into her comment.

"Probably..." Luffy snickered. "He's a bit of a wuss sometimes."

Still breathing heavily, she brought his robes more over her to get warmer, '_Smells ... kinda good ..._' She thought to herself before shuddering with a disgusted groan, "Guh ..."

Once the meat was ready, Luffy placed several chunks in a bowl and cut them into smaller pieces. "Here," he handed the bowl to Nami. Peeking out from his robes, she looked at the bowl, but then groaned, pulling the robes back over her face. She was too tired to chew or eat. Luffy frowned, "You need to eat," he said.

"Too tired ..." She groaned beneath his robes.

Luffy didn't know how to take care of a sick person, besides giving them medicine. He knew meat always made him feel better, so it should work for her, but if she wasn't eating it ... He felt her forehead again, the temperature was still the same. How long was that potion supposed to take to work again? "I'll keep this here for you, when you feel you can eat again."

"What'a you care anyways ...?" She grumbled beneath the robes, feeling herself falling asleep.

"Hmph," he decided not to answer that one. He'd be in a bad mood later anyway. Instead, he took some of his food and started eating it. She snoozed for maybe an hour before groaning and opening her eyes to darkness. Blinking, she pulled down the robes and looked around, spying the bowl of meat in front of her.

Luffy sat up when he heard movement, "How are you feeling?" He asked her when he saw her eyes were opened. The fire was still well stoked, an aftermath of his remaining awake.

"Is that a trick question ...?" She grumbled before reaching out and taking a piece of the meat, sticking it into her mouth and pulling the covers back over her head as she chewed.

"Here," he handed her a cup with water in it. He decided to ignore the question. He wasn't grumpy enough yet, as he hadn't really been trying to sleep. Grumbling slightly, she pulled the robes down, still chewing with narrowed eyes before shifting her eyes to the water. After a moment, she reached out for it, though she didn't raise her head, "You're welcome," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Mmm ..." She hummed, trying to sit up, but having some trouble to drink the water. However, she only managed to spill some of it, causing her to frown deeply.

He sighed, and placed his hand behind her back, supporting her in a more upright position. "Here, try again."

Frowning a bit, she brought her lips to the cup to drink deeply of before leaning back to indicate she was finished. Luffy set the cup aside, and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the spilled water off the side of her face. He noticed some had spilled on her chest. He wiped it off, pausing just for a moment. "Soft," he whispered, and then he collapsed on top of her.

Crying out a bit, she jolted completely and gaped down at him, "Wha-What the ... What the hell are you doing!?" She screeched, though her head was spinning. However, her only reply was Luffy's snore.

"Wha-Wha ...?" She questioned, still gaping down at him, "What the hell ...?" Again, he continued to snore.

xxxx

The next day Luffy woke up for the first time in weeks. As exhausted as he was, he burrowed his face deeper into his soft pillow.

"Would you get off of me!?"

"Huh?" Luffy blinked groggily. He looked up at Nami's irate face. Then down at her bosom. He'd never fully appreciated how much skin women's dresses showed, but now he was glad for it.

"Get off!" She yelled, shoving him away harshly with all the strength she had.

Luffy rolled off her chest and stood up, yawning. "That was weird," he muttered.

"Weird!? You're telling me! What the hell was that, asshole!?" She exclaimed, feeling a bit better, though she had him sleep over her while she'd slept.

"Ya know, I haven't the slightest idea," he frowned and scratched his chin. "I shouldn't be able to sleep."

"Shouldn't be able to sleep? Why not?" She asked, frowning at him deeply.

"Well ..." he hesitated, wondering if he should even tell her. Mah, it wasn't like he cared all that much. "It's a spell that's keeping me from falling asleep."

She blinked at him, "Like ... at all?" She asked, quirking her brow.

"Yeah," he yawned. "At all." He looked around for something to eat for breakfast.

She frowned then, "How does that work ...? How the hell did you go to sleep just now then?"

"That's why I'm confused," he sighed. "It's the first time I've slept in weeks."

"Couldn't not sleeping have serious repercussions...?" She said, narrowing her eyes onto him.

His eyebrow twitched. "You have no idea ..." He shuddered. "It's been taking most of my magical power just to keep my body from collapsing."

"I'm sure you deserved it ... If I had any kind of magical power ... I would have probably done worse..." She said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Don't think there's much worse than not sleeping," he grabbed a pair of rabbits that had wandered into their campsite. He set to cleaning and preparing them for eating.

She smirked, "How about a never ending itch ...?"

He twitched, and turned around to glare at her. "You're evil ..."

Her smirk widened into a horrible grin, "Or maybe a never ending sting to your eyes ..."

His eyebrow twitched. "If you had magic power, I'd seal it away, for the good of the rest of the world."

"Ha!" She exclaimed, "For the good of the rest of the world? You make me laugh! You're the no good bastard, kidnapping innocent women! I don't blame that person at all for putting a curse on you!"

He frowned, and turned away, back to preparing their breakfast. "He was stealing shadows from villagers."

"Oh, I see ..." She replied, narrowing her eyes, "How can you call yourself some kind of savior or even despise these people who do these things ... with the things that you've done ...?" She said, her voice quivering before rolling onto her other side and turning her back to him.

"What things I've done?" He fixed the rabbits over the fire. "A village got destroyed while I was fighting ... with less power than I'm used to I might add ... and I took you when you refused to pay me. It's not like I'm contending for Evil Overlord of the Year here."

"Well, you're pretty far in the running ... It wasn't our fault either that you're running low on power ... and now some of us have no homes and no money with which to rebuild ..." She said, keeping her back to him.

"And yet you had money to hire me?" He raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"It was worth every penny we scraped and starved for ... to be free..." She said softly, tears coming to her eyes. And yet ... she still wasn't free.

"And you couldn't pool that money together to rebuild? It wasn't like you were paying me anyway." He sighed. He was going to be in so much hell when he made his way back.

She sniffled softly, "How the hell am I supposed to do that ... when I'm here...?"

He thought for a moment. " Well, then help me find a way to get some money, so I don't have to go back empty handed."

"And then?" She asked, shifting her eyes up and to the side.

He shrugged. "Maybe I'll let you go, if I have enough money."

Turning back over, she regarded Luffy seriously for a bit before speaking, "You mean that?"

He glanced back at her. "Yeah," he said finally. "I'll take you back as soon as I can get enough money to take back."

She huffed and turned away, "And why the hell should I help you make money though!? What do I get out of it other than the fact that you'd let me go home!? I better get compensated for this! We do have to rebuild after all!"

He blinked. "What do you get out of it? What going home isn't enough for you?"

"It's not my fault you're empty handed in the first place, you jerk!" She yelled, turning to glare at him.

He sighed. "You're very difficult, aren't you?"

"I have a right to be!"

"Fine, fine," he groaned. "You'll get a cut of the profits." He handed her breakfast. "But it'll take longer this way."

She huffed, but turned to take the food from him and sit up to eat it, though her head spun a bit, "Mmm ..." She groaned softly, a hand going to her head.

"Are you alright?" He put his head to her forehead, placing a hand behind her back to support her.

Gasping loudly and turning a bright red, she pressed a hand to his chest and tried to push him away, "What the hell are you doing!?"

"Geez," he snorted. "Just making sure you're alright."

"By putting your face in mine!?" She said, frowning up at him deeply, "I'm fine!"

"Hmph," he snorted. "You're weird."

"_I'm _weird! You're weird! No, you're an idiot!" She said, bringing the meat to her face to eat with a deep purse to her lips, "Stupid ... mage..." She grumbled to herself.

He picked up his own food and started eating it. "Annoying girl," he muttered.

Nami stuck her tongue at him.

He stuck his tongue back at her.

"Hmph!" She huffed, turning her chin up at him and to the side before whirling about to turn her back on him and continued eating.

Once he'd finished eating, Luffy threw the bones into the fire pit and glanced over at Nami. "Do you feel good enough to travel?"

"I said I was fine!" She exclaimed rudely over her shoulder.

"Well, then, rude girl," he held out his hand. "Let's go. We need to get to the next village and find a job."

Turning to look at his hand, she huffed and turned her chin up and away again before trying to stand on her own. However, her head spun again, causing her to lose balance ... right onto him... His arms reflexively wrapped around her to hold her up. "Whoa," he staggered slightly, but kept her upright. He glanced down at the twin soft sensations on his chest. He blushed and looked away.

Blinking, she flushed darkly before stepping away from him quickly, "Let's just go ..."

"'Kay," he picked her up by her waist and set her on the horse. Her skirts hitched up, revealing a generous amount of leg. "Hmm ..." he hummed, "Maybe we should find some different clothes for you?"

"Wha-What for?" She said, still flushed as she looked down at him.

"Well," he cleared his throat, "for one ... those skirts aren't really great for riding. And your top isn't that good for adventuring ... or moving ... or breathing."

Her lips pursed, "And will_ you_ pay for them?"

He blinked. "Uh ... well … maybe we should find an easy job first ..."

"Mmm hmmm ..." She said, looking away from him. He climbed onto the horse behind her, and reached around her to grip the reins, making sure everything had been packed away they took off for the next village.

xxxx

Once they arrived at the next village, Nami looked around the place, spotting a few good places that might be good for gathering information. She was pretty good at it and quite persuasive. Luffy stopped their horse in front of an inn, and jumped down. He turned around, offering Nami to help her down.

Ignoring him, she slid down off from the horse, her bosom bouncing nicely within the bodice, "I'm fine, thanks ..." She said before walking passed him and into the inn.

"Fine ... right," he stared at her chest. How did those things have so much bounce? Once inside, she looked about, waiting for him to follow her inside. Luffy followed inside the inn. He didn't have much money left, perhaps enough for one night. He approached the inn keeper, "Hey, I'm a traveling mage, looking for a job. Has anything been posted recently?"

"Recently?" The man looked up from the glass he was polishing. Why were inn keepers always polishing something? "No, but there's a job that's been around for some time." He reached under the counter and pulled out a piece of paper. "There's a rat infestation at the old mill. Pay is ten gold pieces."

Luffy frowned. "Only ten gold pieces? That's not very much ..."

"It's something at least ..." Nami said, crossing her arms, "But you can do this one alone ... I don't do rats ..."

"What?" Luffy snickered. "Afraid they'll get inside your skirt?"

"They might!" She said, frowning at him deeply and tightening her arms, which caused her breasts to push up a bit.

"Shishishi," Luffy glanced down at her breasts. "Well, this'll be my share then." He walked out of the inn, following the directions on the paper. Nami kept her frown on him before the man approached her to lead her to their room.

Once the man showed her to the room, he left her there with a bow, and she looked around before going to the bathhouse to take a nice hot bath. Moaning softly in the comfort of the bath, Nami closed her eyes and sunk deeper into the glorious bath.

The mill was larger than Luffy had expected. On the inside it was worn down, machinery lay strewn across the floor in pieces. "Huh," he muttered. "Must've been big rats if they broke all this." He took a step inside and the floor gave out underneath him. He groaned and sat up, rubbing his head. Ahead of him was a long, dark tunnel. With a sigh, he took off down it to see what the big deal was. He finally reached the end of the tunnel. What he saw made him pause. "Oh," he said. "Really, really big rats."

xxxx

When he made it back, Luffy was exhausted and injured. He'd collected the reward, and made his way back to the inn and their room. Nami had changed into a complimentary robe and was relaxing in a chair with a book, also complimentary. When he entered, she looked up at him, but then gasped and jumped to her feet, "What the ... I thought they were just rats!"

"Very, very big rats ..." he muttered. "Some of them had swords ..." He collapsed onto the bed, starring up at the ceiling.

Frowning deeply, she walked over to him, reaching down to look over at some of his wounds, "These are going to need to be treated ..."

"There's ... stuff ... herbs ... in my bag," he groaned, not moving.

Blinking down at him a bit, she turned to look down at his bag before going to it and rummaging around in it. Bringing it back, she showed him all the different herbs, "All of these?"

"Yellow ones ..." He sighed, he knew that right now he should be falling asleep, and it felt like he was, only he knew that he'd wake up the moment before losing consciousness.

"Right ..." Nami said, taking his grinding rock and bowl from his pack before grinding it all down. Then she looked back at him, "Take off your robes and whatever undershirt you got on ..."

He pushed himself up, breathing heavily, and tried to take off his clothing. The sleep last night had helped him regain a large portion of his strength, but the fight with the giant rats had robbed him of most of it. Keeping himself upright was a battle of will. Once he'd removed it all, she crawled into the bed and sat behind him with her knees on either side of him as she began to spread the ointment onto his wounds, and then she patched him up, "There ..."

"Thank you..." he muttered, collapsing backwards on top of her, his head resting on her bosom.

Gasping, her face erupted with color as she looked down at him in shock, "O-Oye!" She exclaimed, but she was only met with his snore.

"Mmmoh!" She exclaimed in annoyance as she pursed her lips down at him. Hooking her arms under his, she then dragged him more onto the bed before collapsing into the bed, "I thought you weren't supposed to sleep ...!" She huffed, but then sighed as she tried to slip out from under him a bit. She'd only managed to get half her body out, seeing as the robe wanted to remain under him. With one of her legs completely exposed, she turned to the side with a grumble and just closed her eyes for sleep. However, some time during the night, that bared leg, all the way to the thigh, ended up thrown over his torso.

xxxx

Luffy rolled onto his side, burrowing his face into the warm softness that was next to him. His hand pulled the very smooth cover closer to him. Groaning in her sleep, Nami's brows twitched to the warmth burrowing into her bosoms. Vaguely, he wondered what was so soft, but his mind dismissed it. He was sleeping, and that was all that mattered to him. Sighing in her sleep and brushing it off, she just curled deeper into the warmth, her leg tightening around him a bit more.

Luffy woke up blinking. He found his face pressed against Nami's breasts. In a daze, he started to reach for it, wanting to see if something that soft could really exist. Groaning softly to the draft over her chest, her brows twitched again as her leg lifted up a bit over him. He gulped, glancing down at her leg, that was trapping him against her. His hand touched her breast, curiosity overcoming him and started to open the front of her bathrobe.

Shivering a bit, Nami's eyes blinked open when it got too drafty, but then stiffened when she came face to face with Luffy, and went rigid even further when she looked down. Fury beginning to boil within her, she looked up at him with a scowl before slapping her hand down into his face.

"_Ow_!" He rubbed his face, not moving off her. "What was that for?

"You asshole! What do you mean what was that for!? You had your hand on me!" She growled, lifting her leg to shove him right off the bed.

"Oof," he grunted as he hit the floor, "So? You had a leg around me!"

"Not like I did it on purpose, and it definitely didn't mean you could touch me!" She screeched, closing the robe around her tightly.

"Hmph," he snorted and turned away from her. "Not like you've got anything worth touching."

"Oooh, is that so!? Is that why you were _touching me_!?" Aaaugh!" She screamed in disgust before climbing off the bed and going behind the screen to change. Then she stormed towards the door.

He pulled his robes back on, and followed after her. Crazy girl. "If you don't want anyone touching, then why do you keep flaunting them?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" She yelled over her shoulder, "And even if I did flaunt them, it doesn't mean I wan' 'em touched!"

He blinked. "You make no sense. You wear a dress that has them practically falling out, and you don't call that flaunting?"

She whirled around on him with a deep frown, "Well ... it was all I could afford, okay!?" She said with a deep flush before turning back around again to keep going.

"Really? Weird, back home it seems like it's always the women with more money that always wear dresses with deep necklines."

She blinked and turned to look at him, "Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah, and they always have these waist thingies ...?" He shrugged. "They make their waists look freakishly skinny." He thought for a moment. "Except for that one woman, I think she was using magic. I could tell because the neckline was all the way down to her belly ... not sure how the rest managed to stay up, must have also been magic."

She continued to blink at him, slowing up a bit, "Wow ..." She said before turning back around with a slight flush. She would like to wear beautiful clothes like that. Wouldn't it be great to turn heads with one's beauty? Could she be beautiful like that?

"Soo ..." he said. "We getting breakfast?" He picked at his nose. There were always so many boogers in it in the morning.

"You're the one with the money ..." She said, turning to purse her lips at him, but then stopped to smack his hand, "That's disgusting!"

"Oi!" He frowned at her. "There's boogers in there."

"That's even worse! I didn't need to know that!" She yelled at him, popping the side of his head.

"Oww..." he muttered. "Stop that."

"Why should I!? Let's just go eat already!" She said, turning back around and storming down the stairs.

He sighed, "Yeah, yeah," he said, following after her to the inn's dining room. He asked the innkeeper for breakfast, which was soon brought to them by the barmaid, who was also wearing a low cut dress. He blinked as he looked at the front of her dress. He'd never noticed how many women wore such low cut dresses.

Nami snorted when she saw Luffy eye the barmaid's bust with her cheek propped onto her palm before rolling her eyes and looked down at the food on the table. Turning away, Luffy started to eat his food. Reaching for the food, she then began to eat, but muttered, "Pervert ..."

He looked up at her. "Huh?"

"I said ... _pervert_ ... You deaf too ...?" She muttered with a deep frown as she pushed the fork into her mouth.

"Why am I a pervert?" He frowned at her.

"You were looking at her breasts ... and you _touched_ me this morning ... How can you even ask me that question seriously...? You idiot..." She said, managing to frown deeper as she ate.

"What? I was just noticing that she was wearing the same cut dress as yours." He took a bite from his food. "I never noticed how many women dressed like that."

Her brow quirked as she looked up at him, and then looked over at the barmaid, who was checking Luffy out with a smile. She must have noticed him checking her out. Snorting then, she looked away quickly with her chin raised before eating again, "How rude ..."

"What? She didn't mind," he looked over at the girl, who was smiling. He waved at her. She pursed her lips at him with a huff, deciding to ignore him instead, Luffy looked up at Nami after he'd finished his food. "Now what are you angry about?"

"Who said I was angry!?" She exclaimed angrily.

"Well ... you're yelling at me again ..." He blinked. She really, really didn't make any sense.

"That's because I don't like you!" She said, standing up, "Are we done eating so we can go?"

"Fine, fine," he muttered, standing up, leaving payment for the meal on the table. "Crazy girl," he sighed.

Nami stormed out of the inn, highly irritated, though she had no idea why. All she knew was that it had something to do with the idiot. He just made her angry, and she really didn't like him. Once he'd gathered together his belongings, he met her outside. "There's no jobs left here. We'll have to head to a larger town to find more."

"Right ... whatever ... let's just go..." She said, heading for his horse.

He lifted her onto the horse and jumped on behind her. "Well, let's go."

She puffed her cheeks out a bit when he lifted her and then turned away once atop the animal. As they traveled down the road, headed towards a new town, Luffy noticed how the jostling gait of his horse had pressed Nami's behind closer to his body. He flushed as he glanced down and could see down the front of her dress. He tried to calm down, but physiological reactions took place nonetheless

.

Blinking a bit when something pressed against her rear, she frowned then and turned to look down before scowling and looking up at him, "You're so disgusting!"

"Not my fault," he tried focusing on the road ahead of them.

"Not your fault!?" She exclaimed, frowning at him deeply, "I want my own horse ..." She said, turning to face the other way as she tried to move away from him.

"Well, if you have the money to pay for it," he tried backing away against the saddle, but that only served to free it more, and a jolt pushed him forward again. Now, he found himself stuck under where she was sitting.

Her cheeks flushed as her scowl deepened, but she closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead hard, "You ... are ... despicable..."

"I ... think we should stop the horse ..." He slowed the horse to a stop.

Sliding off from the horse immediately, she walked away a bit, not wanting to be near him at all. Luffy turned his back on Nami and reached into his pants to adjust himself. '_O-kay_', he thought, '_that was weird._' He looked up at the sun - it was noon, so perhaps lunch was in order. He sat down against a rock and pulled out some of the provisions they'd bought at the last village. "You hungry?" He called to Nami.

"Not anymore ..." She grumbled to herself with clenched teeth.

He sighed. "I'm sorry, all right? There was nothing I could do to control it. It's just the way the horse was moving kept bumping you into me, and then that happened ..."

Her arms were crossed tightly under her bust as she turned her frown on him. Well, at least she knew she was attractive enough for him. She guessed that was a bit flattering, though she still didn't like him, "Whatever ..." She muttered before uncrossing her arms and going to sit across from him, though she didn't look at him.

"When we get back on the horse," He handed her some bread and cheese, "you get on behind me."

"Fine ..." She said, taking the offered food and eating it.

"Soo," he said, trying to break the silence. "What do you do?"

"What do I do ...?" She asked, looking up to frown at him.

"Yeah," he said. "What do you do for a living? What skills do you have?"

"Oh ..." She replied softly, looking down as she picked at the bread, "Well ... my ... my sister and I ... we ... have an orchard ..."

"Eh? What kind of orchard?" If it was food then he was doubly interested.

"O-Oranges ..." She said, frowning softly down at her bread and cheese.

"I like oranges," he swallowed what was left of his bread.

"That's nice ..." She said, frowning a little deeper, "You can't have any."

"Stingy," he muttered

"Like I'd give someone like you any of my mother's oranges!" She said, frowning at him deeper.

"Hmph," he looked away from her. "Bet I could find better oranges anywhere else anyway."

"Of course not! We have the best oranges all around!" She said, pulling her eye lid down and sticking her tongue out at him.

He stuck his tongue out at her in retaliation. "Yeah? Wanna try and prove it?"

"No! Because that would mean having to waste a precious orange on you!"

"I guess what Ace said is true," he frowned at her. "The cute ones always have bad personalities."

"Yeah? Well, your brother's an ass too! Maybe it's because you're both asses, that cute girls have bad attitudes towards you!" However, her cheeks then flushed when she realized he'd called her cute. Huffing, she turned away from him.

"Actually, you're the first girl that's ever been this mad at me this often," he packed away the rest of the provisions and climbed onto his horse. He held his hand out to Nami.

"Well, I wonder why!?" She asked sarcastically.

He shrugged. "Dunno, I'm confused too."

"Augh! You really are stupid!" She exclaimed, standing up quickly. However, she ignored his hand and said, "You first, remember!?"

"Fine, fine," He climbed onto the horse, and held out his hand again. "Now?"

Ignoring his hand again, she grabbed onto the saddle and swung herself into the saddle, though her breasts pressed into his back briefly. He stiffened for a moment when her chest made contact with his back, but shook his head and started off down the road again. Nami didn't wrap her arms around him. Instead, she held onto the saddled tightly.

He glanced back at her. "You're not going to fall off are you?"

"I'm fine!" She said, huffing and looking away from him.

"Okay," he turned back to the road. "Just hold on tight." He sped the horse up a little to make up for lost time. He wanted to make it to the town before nightfall. Holding on tighter, she frowned a bit, but was fine otherwise.

**To Be Continued …**

**Author's Note: Con:** So ... giant rats ... Nice ...

**Dart:** Indeed. At the time I really didn't care to write the whole scene by myself, and I feel it turned out more humorous the way I did it in the end.

**Con:** I think so too. Don't always have to write out everything. *Is lazy herself* And what's up with him falling asleep ...? I thought he was cursed ... And it seems to have happened while he touched her bosom. I think we're dealing with magic boobies here, Dart. What do you think?

**Dart:** Booooooooooooobiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeessssssssss!!!!!!!! Which are quite likely of the magic variety.

**Con:** Indeed. ;) Well, let's just see what happens next chapter, shall we? :D And that's if you can get me the cleaned version of chapter 3 any time soon. ^,~

**Dart:** o_O Perhaps...If I can drag myself away from Negima. Heh. Shoutacon implications.

**Con:** So do it ... -_- Until next time! XD

**Dart:** Booobies...of the underage variety...I swear, manga and anime is trying to brain wash me into becoming a lolicon.

**Con:** 0.o

**Dart:** T_T

**Con:** Anyways, see ya later everyone! XD


	3. Chapter 3: He Gets Pissed

**Author's Note:**  
**Dart:** Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle is effing confusing

**Con:** *Comes out of a stupor* Wha ...? ~.o

**Dart:** It's like, clones are the parent's of the people they were cloned from originally, main characters marrying their mother's alternate universe/time line self... Yeah...

**Con:** That sounds like spoilers ....... I've only watched the series, yo ... T_T Not read it ...

**Dart:** I can spoil it all you want, and it'll still be confusing...course it might help if I'd actually read it from the beginning...and all the other Clamp series that are attached to the franchise.

**Con:** T_T

**Dart:** Quite.

**Con:** O-kay ... onto the chapter ... T_T

**Dart:** Chapter? I thought we were just discussing manga here?

**Con:** You were discussing manga ... and interrupted me ... doing whatever it was I was doing ... And now I am playing with my facebook monkey, Monkey D. Luffy ... Go away and let them read ...

**Dart:** Playing with your monkey? Good thing you're a chick...

**Con:** Fufufu~! X3

**Dart:** "Now, tremble in fear as I reveal my giant monkey...form." "Whew, I thought he meant penis."

**Con:** So did I! T_T *Was scared* Now on with the chapter before more people freak out and don't read it! X_x

**Dart:** Wait, we want them to read it? Despite the clear lack of giant monkeys?

**Con:** *Nods*

**Charmed**

**Chapter 3: He Gets Pissed**

A few hours later, Luffy spied the town and yawned. The sun was starting to go down, and he could only hope that he'd get sleep again tonight. "We're almost there," he turned to look at Nami. "Let's find a place to stay, and then we'll look for jobs in the morning."

"Right ..." She said, looking over his shoulder to the much larger town. She actually couldn't wait to explore it. She'd never had the chance to get out of her village to see the world around her. She was quite excited.

Luffy found a good looking inn. "How about here?" He asked Nami.

"Looks nice ..." She replied honestly, looking over the place herself. She'd never really stayed anywhere nice before either. She couldn't wait to sleep in what seemed to be promisingly comfortable beds.

Luffy walked into the inn. The front wasn't a bar like he was used to. Instead it had a counter, behind which was standing a woman, also in a low cut dress, behind her were a bunch of keys. A set of stairs led to the next level, and the hall directly in front of them led to what he thought was the bar. He approached the woman behind the counter. "Hello, we'd like a room please?"

"Of course," the woman pushed a list of prices forward. "We have a honeymoon suite available at a discount price."

"A what now?" Luffy blinked at the woman, glancing down at her cleavage, a generous amount of which was showing with the way she was bending over the counter.

Nami glared at his back heatedly. Again with him staring at women's breasts-the pervert. Then she looked at the woman, walking up and taking the list from her, "This room is fine ..." She said, handing it back to her to show her.

The woman looked at the list and blinked. "Oh, but that's … Are you sure?" She looked up at Nami. "We have much nicer rooms available for a young couple ..."

"Two beds." Nami said, frowning at the woman deeper.

She blinked. "Oh ..." She took down the key for the room and handed it to Nami.

Snatching the keys from her, Nami then headed up to the room, leaving Luffy behind. "I hope you can patch things up between the two of you," the woman whispered to Luffy.

"Huh?" Luffy blinked, and followed after Nami, not really understanding or bothering to reply to her more.

"Idiot ..." Nami muttered to herself as she found the room and unlocked it and stepped inside to inspect it.

"Hey, Nami?" Luffy followed her into the room.

"What!?" She snapped with her back turned to him as she sat down on the bed she'd chosen for herself.

"What do you think she meant by, patching things up between us?" He dropped his stuff at the foot of the other bed in the room.

"It meant she had no idea what the hell she was talking about ..."

"Really?" He lay down on the bed. "Sounds like she knew we weren't getting along."

"Well, isn't that nice for her."

Luffy didn't say anything for a while. "Nami?"

"What ...?" She asked with her back still to him, still irritated.

"What's a honeymoon?"

"Something I don't need to be telling a grown man about ..." She said, frowning deeply.

"Bet you don't know either," he scoffed.

"Of course I do! But I guess your idiocy knows no bounds!" She yelled, turning to glare at him over her shoulder.

"Geez, you're rude," he glared back at her. "I was just asking you a question!"

"I'm only rude to idiots who kidnap me!"

"You get a lot of those?" He picked at his nose. "Cuz you're pretty good at it."

"All right, to anyone else who deserves it, and you definitely fall under that category!" She said, turning her back on him again.

"Hmph, I can't wait till I get the money I need. Then I can get rid of you!" He pulled the pillow down and placed it under his head.

"You could get rid of me much faster if you just admit you're wrong, and let me go home!" She yelled over her shoulder.

"No can do," he refused stubbornly. "This way you'll know not to cheat someone from my guild. We've got some guys that really aren't nice and wouldn't just kidnap you."

"I didn't cheat you! You destroyed my village-God you're annoying! I _really_ don't like you! Let's hurry up and find some jobs!" She said, standing up quickly, even though it was late already.

"Huh?" He blinked. "But it's already late, and I'm exhausted ..."

"The faster I get away from you ... the better ... Besides ... the worst of the worst are usually out right now, and we might be able to get information you wouldn't otherwise get from them ..." She said, heading to the door.

"Fine, fine," he followed after her, content to let her take the lead. He snickered to himself, highly doubting she'd get very far, it wasn't like she had any experience.

The first bar they'd gone to ... she was able to get some very juicy information out of a guy by using her wiles and a bit of flirting. Luffy frowned as he watched her gathering information. He didn't like the way she was showing off her cleavage and acting like she was sweet. He especially didn't like the way the men were looking at her. He almost decked one when he thought he'd gone too far.

After getting a bit more information out of them, she smiled sweetly before heading back towards Luffy, her smile dissipating and forming into a frown, "You see? I got quite a bit of information out of these scum."

"Hmph," he muttered. "Should have just beat them up. That's how I do it." He narrowed his eyes as an obviously drunken man approached them.

"'Ey," he slurred. "I've gots information for you'z." Luffy wrinkled his nose at the obviously alcoholic breath of the man.

Turning around with a sweet smile, Nami laced her fingers together and held them under her chin, "And what's that?"

"You'z gotta convince me first," he swayed, sidling closer to Nami.

"Oh, I see ..." Nami purred to him, "And how could I do that?" She asked, leaning forward a bit.

"I've got'ssa room," he stared at her chest. "You can come tell me there."

"Ah ah ah~!" She said, shaking her finger at him, "That's not the way it works~! You have to tell me first."

"I've gottsa information, I set turns," he swayed, and reached to grab her breast. "Mmmh," he hummed, "Nice..."

Nami gasped, and jumped back from the hand in shock. Before he could do anything else Luffy had grabbed his arm, and sent him flying with a punch. At Luffy's sudden actions, Nami cried out and turned to him with her jaw dropped in a gape, and then she blinked. Hadn't he done the same thing ...?

"We're leaving," Luffy grabbed Nami's arm and pulled her out of the tavern.

Blinking at him in even more confusion, she then looked down at his tight grip and winced, "Y-You're ... hurting me ..."

He slowed down, and loosened his grip. "Sorry," he muttered.

"W-Well ... in any case ... I still got quite a bit out of them ... We can start tomorrow ..." She said, frowning at his back and the grip he still had on her arm, even if he'd loosened it.

"And what would you have done if I hadn't been there?" He kept walking towards their inn, taking a roundabout way to make sure they weren't followed.

"I would have thought of something!" She said, becoming angry, "You're not my savior!"

"And what if he was stronger than you?" He really didn't know why it bothered him so much. But he knew that anything could happen in that kind of situation, and it wasn't right for her to just go to a place like that without any idea of what it was like.

"I-I would have managed!"

"Hmph," he snorted. "You'd be surprised how little pain a drunk can feel. And once he got a hold of you, getting him off would have been almost impossible."

Huffing herself, she looked away from him with a deep frown, though her cheeks were flushed at how quickly he'd come to her defense, but still ... he had been the first to grab her breast. He was still leading her by the arm when they made it to the inn they were staying at. He could hear several people in the bar and then sighed. "We should get something to eat ..."

"We can have something brought up to your room," the same woman behind the counter offered.

Nami looked over to the woman and beamed, "That would be nice."

The woman bowed, and scurried off to the kitchen. Luffy sighed, and looked down at his hand. He let go of Nami's arm and started walking up to the room. It annoyed him that he'd gotten so angry, and all over a girl who was always mad at him. Frowning at his back, she then just followed him back up to their room.

After flopping down fast first into the bed, he then sighed again deeply. He really hoped that he'd find a cure for this curse soon. His temper was taking a beating, and soon he would end up using too much magical power. Not only that, but the stress and weariness would end up catching up to him. With any luck he'd be able to sleep again tonight. Coming in after him, Nami shut the door before going over to her own bed. Bringing her braid to the front, she then worked to undo it and let it loose.

He looked up and glanced over at Nami. He hadn't realized how long her hair was. It looked nice. A knock at the door attracted his attention. "Yes?" He called.

"I've brought your dinner," a voice on the other side said. Luffy got up and opened the door. A young maid walked in carrying a tray with potatoes and a slab of meat. She set it on the table, bowed and left the room. Nami turned towards the table, her long hair still draped over her shoulder. Luffy sat down and dished up some food for himself.

Moving her hair to her back, Nami went to the table and began to do the same. Taking it back to the bed, she sat down and began to eat. After he finished eating, Luffy set the plate aside and laid down on his bed. He closed his eyes, hoping to fall asleep. Going back to her bed, Nami combed her fingers through her hair, and quietly hummed to herself, a melody Bellemere used to sing to them.

After a while, he opened his eyes and listened to Nami humming. After she'd finished he turned to look at her. "That's a nice tune," he said.

Blinking a bit, she turned to stare at him with owlish eyes, "What?"

"The song you were humming," he said. "It's nice."

She blinked once, "I was humming ...?" She asked in a voice that reeked of disbelief, "I was not ..." She answered her own question ...

"Yeah, you were," he insisted. "And it sounded nice."

Blinking a bit more, she then turned back around. Had she really been? Sighing, she then just lay down in her bed and pulled up the covers over herself, blowing out the candle at the same time, "Go to sleep ..."

"Yeah," Luffy climbed into bed and closed his eyes.

Bringing her hair around, she continued to comb her fingers through it before sighing deeply. Several hours later, Luffy was still awake. It was no use, he couldn't sleep. The curse was still active. "Nami?" He whispered. "Are you awake?"

Groaning a bit and curling into herself, she then blinked her eyes open before frowning, "I am now ... What ...?"

"I can't sleep," he sighed.

Rubbing her eyes and turning to face him, her frown then deepened as she looked over at him, "What am I supposed to do about that?"

"I don't know," he sighed. He could feel tears starting to well up in his eyes. He just couldn't take it anymore. "I just wanted to see if you were awake. I ... get tired of being alone all night."

She blinked a bit at the quiver in his voice a bit confused, but then she frowned again, "Didn't you sleep ... last night ...?"

"Yeah ..." he hiccupped and took a deep breath. "I don't know why, but I can't get to sleep tonight."

She blinked multiple times, "A-Are you ....... Are you crying ...?"

"No," he sniffed stubbornly, wiping the tears from his eyes.

She pursed her lips before sighing deeply. If she couldn't sleep for a few weeks, she might just be crying too ... "All right ... fine ... y-you can ... sleep over here ... but if you touch me, I kill you!"

He blinked, turning to look at her. "Really?"

"Yes, I will really kill you! Now hurry up! I'm tired!" She said, opening up the covers for him. "Besides ... you're no good to me without any power ..."

"'Kay," he climbed into the bed, and laid down, awkwardly trying not to touch her.

Wrapping her arm around him a bit to lower the cover, she then retracted her arm back, feeling awkward herself before trying to close her eyes to sleep. Still, Luffy couldn't get to sleep. He lay there, awkwardly, waiting for sleep to finally come. Nami appeared to be asleep, and she started shifting, leaning more into him. He felt her breasts contact his chest, within seconds he could feel himself drifting off to sleep. Sighing softly in her sleep, feeling warmth from beside her, she then moved more towards it, curling up deeply within it.

xxxx

Luffy opened his eyes, only to find himself facing Nami, whose face was very close to his. He stared at the peaceful expression her face held as she slept and then smiled gently at her. He'd been able to sleep again. Perhaps ... there was a connection between her and that? Either way, after such a good rest, he could feel the strain on his health slowly fading away. His magical power was slowly returning to its proper strength. Considering that Nami appeared to be the key, he couldn't believe how amazingly beautiful she looked to him.

After awhile, she groaned before her brows furrowed for a second, and then she blinked her eyes open, both staring at his chest. Then she looked up at him, her face flushing a bit before she turned over and sat up. "Good morning," he said, feeling truly happy for the first time in weeks. He leaned up, propping his head up with his hand.

"It is morning ..." She said, as if implying that that was all it was as she grabbed the ribbon from the nightstand, beginning to braid her hair back up. He laid there and watched her, fascinated by the simple act of her braiding her hair.

Once she was done, she stood up and looked down at him, slowly frowning, "What?" She asked, her cheeks flushing slightly at the fact that he'd been watching her that whole time. Though, she also felt a little unnerved.

"Nothing," he said, climbing out of bed and pulling his robe back on. "I've just never seen a girl braid her hair before. It was interesting to watch."

She pursed her lips, though her flush deepened, "Well ... don't do that ... It's ... disconcerting!" She said before turning towards the door.

"Discon- … What now?" He straightened his robe and followed after her.

"Oh, I forgot you're not very bright ... Disturbing! Okay!?" She threw over her shoulder as she stormed down the stairs, "It's very disturbing!"

"Oh," he said, following her.

The hostess had just come to stand behind the front desk when the couple from last night came down. The woman was angry at the man, for some reason. She sighed, and the two had looked like such a good couple. It hurt to see them having trouble. Sighing deeply in her aggravation, she then approached the woman, "We'd like to have breakfast now, please ... We can take it down here this time ..."

"Oh, of course," she looked at them for a moment with sad eyes, before turning to the kitchen to get breakfast started.

Blinking at the woman, Nami then reached out a hand towards her, seeing that she was misunderstanding, "O-Oye ...!" But the woman was gone already. Sighing, Nami just drooped down over the counter.

Luffy leaned around to look at Nami. "What's wrong?" He glanced down towards the kitchen. Women really were strange. He looked back at Nami, strange, and strangely beautiful.

"I-It's nothing ..." She said with a frown and looking away from him, "She's just got the wrong idea, is all ..."

"Oh," he scratched over his hair. With any luck, he didn't have to worry about getting sleep anymore. Perhaps he could use the time to figure out this girl. Perhaps even figure out why he could only sleep with her, if that was in fact the case.

Nami began to tap her foot in impatience before sighing again. Wasn't breakfast ready yet? The hostess came back from the kitchen. "This way please," she gestured for them to follow her. Moving immediately towards the woman and passing Luffy, Nami followed her into the dining area to be seated. Luffy followed the two women, still trying to figure out why Nami was so upset.

The hostess motioned for them to be seated at a table. "Breakfast will be ready shortly," she bowed and left the table.

"Thank you ..." Nami said to the woman as she took her seat, all the while, pretending Luffy wasn't there.

Luffy stared at Nami, who wasn't looking at him. Why was she still mad at him? "Are you alright?" He asked her.

"Ooh, I'm just fine and dandy, thanks for asking ..." She said rudely, keeping her frown to the side with her cheek in her palm.

"Don't you get tired of being angry all the time?" He tilted his head to get a better look at her face.

"As a matter of fact, I do ..." She said, turning to glare at him.

"Then why are you still?" He asked innocently.

"Because you're an idiot ..." She said, her eyes narrowing further.

"That's a dumb reason to be angry," he countered, staring openly back at her.

"You're a dumb reason ..." She retorted back in a mutter before huffing and looking away from him again.

He blinked, confused. "That ... doesn't make any sense."

"That's because you're an idiot ... Now stop talking to me. You're making me feel dumber by the second ..."

"Well this isn't helping our working relationship," he muttered looking down at the table to play with his fork.

"Who said we needed one?" She muttered back before looking around for that woman and her food.

"Hmph, you're only going to get eaten by a dragon or something if we can't work together," he said as the woman brought their food, bowed, and left them to themselves. He thought about it. He'd never taken a dragon down before, and since he was managing to get sleep his strength was coming back. Perhaps it was worth a shot? Not to mention, dragons liked virgin sacrifices, right? Nami could act as a decoy while he took down the dragon. Hmm ...

"You're stupid ... I'm not going to get eaten by a dragon just because I'm not working well with you!" She said, turning to frown at him deeply.

"Say ..." He thought over his plan a bit more. "Are you a virgin?"

Sucking in her breath and almost choking, seeing as she'd just put a forkful in her mouth, she grabbed the water and downed it before scowling at him, "What the hell kind of question is that!?"

"What?" He looked confused. "I need to know for a plan I had in mind."

"What _plan_!?" She said, quirking a brow and looking at him as if he'd lost his marbles.

"Well, I was thinking," he started. "I've never taken a dragon down before, and since I've been getting sleep my strength has been returning. So, maybe we could take one down, with you acting as a decoy while I sneak behind it. If we manage to kill one, that'll be all the money I needed for taking the job in your village, and there'd be plenty left over to rebuild your village five times over ... I think ..."

She blinked at him once with wide eyes, "You're out of your mind." She said before going back to eating and pushing his idea out of her head.

"What?" He pouted. "It's a good plan. And you'd get to go home sooner."

"I'd rather spend a little more time with an idiot like you, than risk my chances with a dragon ... with an idiot like you ..." She said, closing her eyes and taking another sip.

Luffy took a bite out of his food. "Really?" He smirked. "Does that mean you're starting to like me?"

"I didn't mean that in a good way." She shot back with a snort.

"Well," he drank half his cup empty. "I'd still beat the dragon."

"I highly doubt someone like you could beat a dragon ..."

"Oh yeah?" He flexed his arm. "I'll have you know I took down a giant ... demon ... zombie ... thing ..." He tapped his lips with his finger. "Not quite sure what it was ... but it was big ... and demony ... and undead ..." He shook his head. "But yeah, before I had this curse placed on me, I took down all kinds of giant monsters. I just hadn't gotten around to killing a dragon. And since my power is coming back, now that I've been getting sleep, I wanna try it!"

"I'm not being any kind of decoy for anything. I'm not risking my life ..." She said, finishing up her food.

"Well, what else can you do then?" He pouted. And it had been such a good plan too.

"I got all that information last night, didn't I? Let's put it to good use. There are a couple of rumors going around about a man taking women to be sold as slaves elsewhere. They also said a few women just went missing recently, but the authorities have no idea why nor do they have any leads." She said, looking up at him, still frowning.

He thought about it for a moment. "I guess we could do that. It'll take a while to find a dragon, and we do need more money to live off of. We've used most of it up already."

"Some of them said that he could possibly be located in the warehouse districted. So, we can start our search there." She said, rising to leave, but then added, "We're not taking down a dragon …"

"Awww …" he pouted, but stood up to follow her.

Going outside, she frowned at his single horse before turning her frown on him, "I still want my own horse ..."

"As soon as we can afford one," he shrugged. "I really don't have any money left. We only have a little from the rat," he shuddered, "job." He climbed onto the horse, and held his hand out again. "Coming?"

Pursing her lips up at him, she then grabbed the saddle and mounted without his help, "Let's just go ..."

"Right." They headed for the warehouse district. It was located on the west end of the town, right next to the river that ran by. The river, one of the tributaries to the largest shipping line, the Grand Line River, was the town's main water supply, and it's lifeline for commerce. Several tough looking workers were around the warehouses, and the place was generally pretty busy. Luffy turned around to look at Nami. "So where should we start to look first?"

"How the hell should I know? Maybe we can ask some of these workers if they've seen or heard anything suspicious." She said, nodding to the men working. She might be able to get information out of them.

Luffy led the horse towards the men Nami had indicated. "Hey, you seen anything suspicious?" He asked them. They looked up at him, but generally ignored him as they went back to work. "Well," he turned back to Nami. "Got any better ideas?"

"Of course I do~!" She said, getting off from the horse and approaching them with a sway to her hips, "Ooh~! Come, come~! Tell me everything you know~!" She purred as she approached them, all of them giving her their undivided attention and smiles. A few said a few things, mostly useless things, but she did get some rather interesting information out of one them.

Luffy crossed his arms as he watched them. Well, it looked like she was getting the information, and yet it was pissing him off too. Maybe because she could do it, but he couldn't?

"Thanks boys~!" Nami said, giving them a wink over her shoulder as she walked back to Luffy with a sway to her hips again, causing them to cheer after her. Once she got to him, she placed her fists on her hips with a smirk on her face, "See? Easy."

"Humph," he looked away from her, after staring at her hips as she approached him. "You cheated."

She pursed her lips, leaning forward a bit, reproachfully, "I did not!"

He glanced down at the cleavage that was showing. He looked back up at her face. "That's not the way I see it."

Glancing down as well, she straightened out with a flush and pursed her lips more, "Stop that!"

"You're the one who keeps leaning forward," he looked away, a blush on his face.

"Well ... you don't have to look!" She yelled back, her own flush deepening in color.

"Is there a problem here?" One of the workers asked as they all surrounded Nami protectively. Blinking a bit, Nami turned as a sweat bead dropped down the side of her face. They were all glaring at Luffy.

"Ahaha ..." Nami laughed nervously as her lips twitched.

"There will be," Luffy cracked his knuckles, glaring at the workers. "if you don't piss off." His eyes started to glow a bright blue color, a sign that his power was closer to reaching its normal level.

Turning back to Luffy, Nami's eyes widened before she whirled around, pulled him down by the front of his robe, and then slammed the palm of her hand down onto his his head as she smiled nervously to the works, "Aah, no! Everything's fine! Nothing I can't handle, really!"

"Oye," he growled. "Stop that." He flailed with his arms, trying to whack her hand away.

The men quirked their brows down at her as she laughed nervously up at them, but then nodded and turned away. Releasing her breath, she then released his head and turned to frown at him, "You idiot! There's no need for that!"

He shook his head, and glared down at her. "What? I was going to get rid of them. They were being annoying."

"You're annoying! Can I get rid of _you_!?" She said, scowling at him.

"I dunno," He shrugged. "Wanna give it a try?"

"Augh! Let's just go, you crazy ass idiot!" She said, moving back towards the horse.

He decided to give it another shot, and held his hand out. Well he was stubborn if nothing else. Pursing her lips up at him, she then rolled her eyes before taking his hand and hopping up onto the horse. "So," he said. "What did they tell you?"

"Well, one of them said there was this creepy looking guy who walks through here, heading in that direction." She said, pointing ahead of him, though her breasts pressed a bit into his back, "He said he followed him once, just to follow him, but ended up losing him a little ways in. But he gave me the directions."

"Okay," he muttered, blinking his eyes a bit when they wanted to close and followed the directions that Nami gave him. They started to enter an area that looked older, and was less frequented than the other areas.

"One of them even said he once saw that same creepy man walking through here with a woman. However, the woman didn't look very lively, like she was moving mechanically ... It has to be the guy." She said, though a little quieter as she looked around.

"Gotcha," Luffy cracked his knuckles. "And then I'm gonna send him flying." He punched the air in front of him.

"Right, right ... Let's not get too excited ..." She said with a sigh, her chest rising and falling and brushing up against Luffy again.

Luffy blushed at the mammary contact against his back, feeling a bit drowsy, "Well," he cleared his throat, shaking it off, "It depends on what he's been doing with them. I might end up having to hurt him, bad."

Her eyes narrowed, "Oh, you mean like touching them?"

"Is that the worst you can think of?" He blushed. "Besides I was still mostly asleep."

"Uh huh ... So, does that mean you will beat yourself up?" She asked, her eyes narrowing further.

He chuckled slightly. "Maybe, but you seem to do a good enough job of it yourself."

"Maybe I should try a little harder ..." She muttered, frowning deeply at his back, but her cheeks flared with color.

"Please don't," he laughed.

"Why's that funny!?" She exclaimed, getting annoyed with him further.

"Because you're being funny," He chuckled. "Are we almost there?"

"How the hell should I kno-Aah ..." She suddenly said, her eyes glazing over and slumping a bit onto Luffy.

"Nami?" He tried to look at her, trying to ignore the drowsiness again, "Nami? Are you alright?" She suddenly slid off from the horse and began walking passed him, though her eyes were still completely glazed over. "Oye, Nami!" Luffy jumped off the horse, and grabbed her arm. "Where are you going?"

Nami turned to look up at him, but her eyes were unfocused and lifeless. Taking his sword from its sheath, she then swung at him to get him away from her before she kept going, the sword dragging behind her. Luffy jumped back to dodge the swing, frowning deeply at her, "Nami!"

Soon, a figure came out of the shadows, chuckling nastily as he approached her. Reaching out, he caressed her face down to her chin, tilting her head back a bit as he looked over to Luffy, "This yours?" He asked before leaning down and running his tongue over her jawline. However, she didn't do anything at all.

Luffy's aura flared, his jaw tightened and gall rose up in the back of his throat. "Let go of her," he yelled, punching at the man from a distance.

Wrapping his arm around Nami, he jumped back, and then straight up onto the roof of a building, "You should take better care of your things, little boy." He said, taking her chin and pressing his face against hers, "You just might lose them ..." He chuckled as he jumped back again, disappearing completely.

Luffy shot his hands where the man had disappeared, and flew after him. They were nowhere in sight.

"Dammit!" He yelled, his fist tightening and his arms shaking. Trying to calm down, he pulled out a piece of star metal. He held it tightly in his hand for a bit, before holding it flat on his palm. He cast the finding spell, focusing on Nami. The metal pointed in a direction, and then he followed it.

xxxx

Nami blinked her eyes open, confused a bit as to why she'd been asleep in the first place. Sitting up, she looked around and gasped when she saw more women where she was, all crying and terrified, "Eh ...?" She questioned before looking around. Getting up, she placed her hands on her hips with a frown, "Well, this is just great! What the hell was that idiot doing!?" All the women blinked at this brazen woman.

Looking around at the other woman, Nami then pursed her lips, "What're you all lookin' at!?" They jumped, gaping at this woman in shock. Wasn't she scared?

"Such a spicy little flower, aren't you?"

Blinking her eyes, Nami turned to the male voice before frowning, "Ah, so you must be the creepy guy they were talking about ..." All the women's jaws dropped in complete shock.

The man burst into laughter, "I like you ... A lot ... I think you are going to be my prized sell ... You would go for quite a sum ... Beautiful and bold ..."

Nami blinked a bit before beaming, "Really? You think I'm beautiful?" The women facepalmed or fell over in their shock. This woman was out of her mind.

"High price too, huh? Not bad!" She said, smirking at him with a snicker.

"She's crazy ..."

"Out of her mind ..."

He burst into more laughter before saying, "You are something else! I like you. Why don't you dine with me tonight?"

"Nah ..." She said, glancing to the side boredly with a huff, her hands still on her hips, "I have plans ..." '_That idiot better hurry up and find me_ ...'

Walking up to the bars, the man slid them through to lean against them, "Come, come now ... It's only dinner ... and I don't have to ask ..."

Seeing no other option really, she then crossed her arms under her chest and frowned back at him, "All right ... but the food had better be good ..."

"Some of the best ... I promise ..." The man said, smirking widely at her and causing a shiver to run down her spine. She didn't like him.

xxxx

Meanwhile, Luffy was still following the direction the star metal had shown him. Luffy stopped when the metal suddenly pointed at a warehouse he'd just passed. Luffy looked at the building, the metal was pointing at it. '_Must be the spot_.' Luffy smashed his foot through the building's door. It was empty. He looked around trying to find Nami. Nothing. Luffy stared at the metal. What was wrong with this thing?

**To Be Continued …**

**Author's Note:**

Luffy: My boobies!

Dart: Mine, dammit!

Luffy: *Punches Dart and roars* No! Mine!

Dart: Oh, wait, we weren't talking about Robin were we?

Con: Nope ...

Dart: Damn. I'm going to have to change quite a bit of what I wrote for her later on.

Con: There's a lot we have to change ... V.V

Dart: Particularly, I need to describe Robin's boobies more often, and in greater detail.

Con: No you don't ... ~.~ Anyways, until next time! XD *Cuts Dart off*

Dart: Oi!

Luffy: MY BOOBIES!


	4. Chapter 4: She Barters

**Authors' Note:**

Con: Okay so ... I think I'm pretty uber ...

Dart: Oya?

Con: *GRINS* YES! XD Or maybe it was just dumb luck ... T_T

Dart: I see...what are you talking about?

Con: I'm talking about Don Flamingo. I totally gave him the ability to control people in here, and yet, I had completely forgotten that his actual Devil Fruit power was like a puppet master ... ~.~

Dart: Oh yeah...and here I thought you'd remembered it. :D

Con: It was dumb luck, wasn't it? T_T

Dart: Yes...quite a lot in fact.

Con: You're mean ... T_T

Dart: Umm...Enjoy the new chapter everyone! Burrito's are tasty.

Con: T_T

**Charmed**

**Chapter 4: She Barters**

Nami was beyond moody when a few days passed and there was still no sign of Luffy. Had something happened to him then? Was she really going to be sold in this auction? With her arms crossed under her chest where she sat, she bobbed her crossed leg up and down in her annoyance. After a moment, some men came to collect them to take them to the auction site, a few women bursting into tears and sobs. Frowning deeper in her annoyance, she stood up and just walked out without being dragged.

Some kind of portal was opened ahead, and the women were being forced through it. Nami's heart leapt into her chest a bit, feeling a little insecure about this. Would Luffy really find her? Well ... he was pretty stubborn ... Or maybe he didn't think it was worth it to try and find her ...

However, this only made her angry, and thus she frowned deeply, '_That little perverted ass had better come looking for me_!'

"Aah, beautiful girl ... You're spirit never ceases to amaze me ... I'm almost tempted to keep you myself, but the price you would fetch is much more tempting ..." The blonde man said, smirking at her as she passed.

"Then I can only say I'm a little disappointed that I'm not more tempting than money ..." She retorted sarcastically while narrowing her eyes at him, "Though I see your dilemma ..."

The man burst into laughter, "You really are tempting!" He said before she was pushed through the portal to the other side.

Pulling the hood on over his face, Luffy cautiously looked around at all the people, who were at attendance at the auction. It had taken a lot of questioning, but he'd finally managed to find rumors of an auction going on in the magical underworld. Further searching led him to finding out the location. He could only hope that Nami was there. That she wasn't out of his reach yet. Woman after woman was brought on stage, and he was growing more and more anxious.

Nami was saved for last, it would seem, "And now ... for my most prized woman!" The blonde man announced as Nami was ushered onto the stage. Luffy perked up. There she was! He resisted the urge to rush up and save her. He had to wait for the proper moment. But, he could save her now. He smirked and looked around for proper escape points once he_ did_ get her.

The blonde, sunglasses wearing man smirked as he cupped Nami's chin, which she pursed her face and yanked her head away from his, which caused a bit of an uproar from the crowd, "As you can see, this woman has quite a bit of spirit. Not a single tear in her eyes! And she also has beauty." He said, motioning his arm to the crowd, which cheered with interest, "As you would expect, her starting bid is much higher than the other women who came through here. We will start the bid at twenty-five thousand gold pieces." Nami blinked up at him. That was a very high price. Her cheeks flushed a bit, not being able to stop the pleasure she felt for being worth that much as a starting bit.

"Thirty thousand gold!"

"Thirty-two thousand!"

The numbers kept rolling and eventually it began to slow down, and Nami frowned. However, Luffy watched the biddings with disgust, "You must be joking!?" Nami suddenly exclaimed, in disgust herself, "Is that all I'm really worth!? Fifty-six thousand gold pieces!? Come on! You can do better than that!"

"_E-h_!?" Luffy straightened himself up. What was wrong with her?

A few people glanced over to the hooded man, though they couldn't see his face. Nami noticed as well, feeling her heart leap into her chest, though she would never admit that she was actually happy knowing he had actually come for her, "As you can see, a very spirited woman!" The blonde man said with a big grin that she was succeeding at selling herself and happy that the crowd was responding positively, and thus more prices were thrown their way, "And who's to say, if she's this spunky now, imagine even more so in bed." He said, giving a wink to the crowd, which cheered even louder, though with masculine intensity.

"Eeh!?" Nami exclaimed, gawking at him in appalled disbelief, "You're out of your mind!"

"You see!? She shows even more spirit instead of fear!" The blonde man shouted in exuberance, and the price seemed to double to almost one hundred and twenty thousand gold pieces.

"Wow ..." Nami said, blinking at the crowd, though this really was no time to be impressed. She then looked over at Luffy with a frown as if to say, any time now would be nice ...

Luffy's eyebrow twitched and a soft glow of blue in the shape of eyes appeared from within the dark depths of the hood, alerting some people nearby. That's it - he was going to kill this man. He pushed through the crowd, which was harder than he'd hoped. He hadn't been sleeping while searching for Nami. When she saw that he was pushing through the crowd already, she blinked a bit. He seemed upset - the glowing blue of his eyes was a really big indication. And the crowd cried out a bit to the disturbance of him pushing through him.

Looking over to Luffy as well, the blonde man frowned deeply as he grabbed Nami to him, "Aah! Let go!" Nami cried, struggling in his arms to be set free. Her new clothes, however, weren't covering much to begin with, so she stilled herself, looking down at the top that only covered her breasts, leaving her shoulders and stomach bare. Though, she was glad the puffy pants covered her legs completely.

Throwing his arms back, he knocked people out of the way and fired them at the blonde haired man. Nami's eyes grew before she scowled, "Wait a minute, you idiot!" She screamed angrily, seeing as she was in the way. However, she was then tossed aside, and she landed with grunt before looking up at the man, who was just smirking at Luffy. Bringing up a shield, he just blocked Luffy's attacks.

Grunting as his attack bounced off, he grabbed onto the stage and threw himself at the man. Spreading his arms out with a bigger smirk as well, he created a bigger shield, but slid back at the force of Luffy's momentum. Scurrying away, Nami stood up and watched from afar, not wanting to get mixed up in the fight, "Gattling," Luffy yelled the name of his spell, his arms multiplied and the speed of his punches increased, ramming into the shield. Growling a bit as he slid across the ground and losing his smirk, he held his arms out with more force as the shield threatened to break.

Looking to the side, Nami saw a few guards running towards them, and she frowned, looking over at Luffy. Without thinking, she stood in their path, letting her hip jut out a bit, "Please! He really hurt me just now! Would you help me~?" She said, letting her lips soften up and even giving a wink, and the guards all slowed up and began walking towards her, "Ooh, good boys~!" She said, but in her mind she was thinking, '_What the hell_!? _That actually worked_!?'

Pulling back his arm, Luffy then twisted it and shot it forward. "Rifle!" He punched at the shield again, violent winds rotated around his arm, shooting forward, pushing against the shield along with the fist.

"Guwah!" The man exclaimed with a scowl as he was shoved back. The shield didn't break, but he was sent flying back, slamming up against the wall, "You're pretty strong, kid ..." He said, beginning to smirk again, but not strong enough ..." Lifting up his hand, he snapped his fingers, and suddenly Nami's eyes lost their spirit. Taking one of the guard's swords, she then turned before running at Luffy with the sword drawn.

Dodging out of Nami's way, he then turned to the man and scoffed, "Coward," he yelled. "Can't even fight for yourself." He grabbed the sword out of Nami's hand and cast a restraining spell on her.

Gasping, she struggled a bit, trying to get free of whatever was holding her there, but with no avail. After awhile, she started to get a bit angry, and soon, she was blinking her eyes, "Oye! Why can't I move!?"

The blonde man blinked at this, '_She has magical abilities_?_ How did she come out of my spell _...?' "You're both very entertaining ... but I'm afraid I can't stay and play any longer. Perhaps we shall meet again." He said, giving a bow, "And the name's ... Don Flamingo ... Remember it, kid ..." He said before suddenly vanishing.

"Oye! Get me out of this, you idiot!" Nami yelled at Luffy with a deep frown.

"Oye, get back here, coward!" Luffy yelled at the empty space where Don Flamingo used to be, but then he snorted loudly and turned to Nami, "Oh, right, sorry." He knelt down next to her, and pressed his finger to the back of Nami's neck. He dragged it down her spine, releasing the spell.

Stiffening and shuddering a bit, she then cried out when she dropped to the ground, "Kya!" When she hit the floor with a grunt, she then growled, sat up, whirled around and then smacked him on the head, "Took you long enough!"

"Oww," he rubbed his head. "Don't hit me."

"I can hit you if I wanna hit you-Aah!" She suddenly screamed, grabbing onto Luffy and falling to the side, just as a sword swiped where they used to be, but the sword's edge, nicked her and cut her skin. With a hiss, her hand then went to her arm, blood already seeping through her fingers.

Luffy swore, as he hit the ground. He rolled, placing himself between her and their attacker. He kicked back and threw their attacker away. "Maybe we should leave?"

Curling up a bit, she then opened an eye to him and nodded, "Yeah ..."

He pulled her up as he stood. Several guards were running at them. He started to head for an exit, and then paused, turning to Nami, "We're not going to get paid if we let these people get away with the women."

Looking up at him, she then looked towards the women and nodded, "You take care of the guards. I'll get the women." She said, turning to a curtain and ripping off a small piece to wrap around her wound before running towards the women.

Luffy cracked his knuckles. He rushed at the guards, augmenting his speed, easily taking them out. They were just thugs for hire, no match for him.

Nami quickly looked for the keys to the chains before unlocking them all, the women all gawking at her as if she were some amazing Goddess.

Luffy took down the last guard, who'd been much bigger than the other ones, and spouting something or other about being tougher than the rest and so on. It was around that time that Luffy knocked him out with one punch to the face. "You ready?" He called out to Nami.

The last chain was undone, and Nami turned a smile to him, perhaps the first smile she'd ever offered him, "Yup! All free!"

Blinking, upon seeing Nami's smile, Luffy smiled as well, not having expected it or how surprisingly beautiful it was. "Great, let's get out of here," he said, randomly punching a fat, smug looking rich guy trying to escape with the rest of the audience. A quick thought occurred to him, and he cast a spell of marking, so that the authorities would be able to later identify these buyers.

All the women gathered around her then, stars in their eyes as they praised her and said how brave she was or how they wished they could be just like her, "E-Eh ...!?" She exclaimed, holding out her palms with a nervous smile and a drop of sweat coming down her face.

Then they seemed to turn their attention on Luffy, "And you have a mage, who came to your rescue! It's so romantic!"

"Eh!?" Nami said a bit ruder as her eyes narrowed a bit.

This caused Luffy to blush, "Umm ... Exit ... This way please?" He gestured for the women to go down a safe exit he'd secured.

"Kya~~!" They cried, running towards him and surrounding him.

"He's embarrassed!"

"How cute!"

Pursing her lips and feeling quite annoyed, Nami then stormed over to them, beginning to push them towards the exit, "Yeah, yeah, let's go! I wanna get the hell outta here!"

"Yeah ... What she said ..." Luffy added, staying behind to make sure everyone had left. Once they had gone outside and the authorities called to take care of the mess, Nami sighed and drooped with relief that it was almost over. She waited for Luffy to receive whatever rewards was offered to him for telling the authorities about the marking spell he'd cast on the buyers and finding the women. After all, they hadn't actually caught the guy responsible.

Coming back over to Nami, Luffy placed his hooded robe over her shoulders and asked, "Are you all right?"

Gasping and jumping in surprise, she then turned to face him, before just sighing and becoming a bit annoyed that he'd startled her. But at the same time, she flushed a bit that he'd given her his robe to cover herself with, and possibly because he had actually come for her, "I'm fine ... but it would have been better had you come sooner!" She said, covering her embarrassment as she turned away from him and walked away.

"Yeah ... sorry," he pulled out the sliver of star metal and gave a shrug, "This thing wasn't working, so I had to gather information, and people were being very rude ... so it took a while to find out where the auction was being held ..."

Turning to look at the thing in his hand, she just turned with a huff, "Well in any case ... how much did they give you?"

"Let's see ..." he pulled out the bag, shifting through the coins, "Not sure ... About three hundred gold coins, I think?"

"Three hundred!? That's it!? That's a really small sum ... Mmoh ... I wish we could have caught the guy! It probably would have been a lot more ..." She said, sighing and drooping forward.

"Pussy coward just ran away," Luffy muttered, "I almost had him too, but then he did that weird mind control thing on you and ran."

Nami blinked and turned to him, "Weird mind control?" She asked, tilting her head a bit. "Is that why I blacked out ...?" She asked, glancing up and touching a finger to her lips. However, she winced at raising her arm with a hiss, to the pain that shot through it, and her hand flew up to her shoulder.

Seeing her wince, Luffy's hand shot under the cloak, lifting it off her shoulder, so he could look at her arm. "Are you all right?" He looked at the blood soaked cloth wrapped around her arm. "I need to take a look at this, so I can clean it. It'll get infected if you just leave it like this."

She frowned softly, though she couldn't really argue with that, and so, she just nodded, "Mm ..."

"Sorry," he muttered, still examining the cut.

She frowned deeper, "For what?"

"It's my fault you got cut, I should have been paying better attention."

She snorted and lifted her chin up and away from him with her eyes closed, "Yes, you should have!"

"But thanks," he smiled at her, even though she wasn't looking at him.

Peeking an eye open, she looked down at him, seeing his smile before snorting and looking away again, though her cheeks were a bit flushed, "You're welcome!"

He kept smiling, though his eyes dipped in a frown. "And what was the deal with you encouraging them to bid on you?"

"Ngh!" She winced slightly as a bead broke out onto her face, "W-Well ... I'm worth way more than that! Th-That's all!" She said, her cheeks reddening further.

"You wanted them to buy you?" His frown deepened.

"N-No ..." She said, blinking her eyes to him, but then immediately blinking them away, and then she pursed her lips at him, "Wha-What're you so upset about!?"

"Nothing," the frown left his face. "So why weren't you more nervous then? For all you knew someone was going to end up buying you."

She shrugged then, but winced, "I knew you, the stubborn ass that you are, would come eventually..."

"Yeah, well, this stubborn ass saved _your_ ass," he blinked. "Wait ... you actually believed that I would come for you? I thought you hated me."

"I do hate you!" She said, turning a deep frown on him, "But I knew you would come, seeing as you want your stupid money, right!?" She said with a huff, turning away from him completely, "And besides, I saved your ass too. So, we're even!"

He grinned widely at her, "But you still trusted me. That's progress in my eyes." He let go of her arm, "I'll clean that up when we get back to the inn."

Pursing her lips at him, she snorted quite loudly, though her cheeks were flushed again, "Fine!" She said, standing up and walking passed him.

Watching her pass, he kept his silly grin and just followed behind her to the inn. So, she'd actually trusted him? She might be annoying, and yell at him, and hit him all the time, but he liked that she'd believed in him. It made being around her, even when she was mean, worth it. Once they were back at the inn and in their room, Nami sat down onto the bed and pulled down the robe to get a look at the gash on her arm. It was still losing blood, which made her frown deeply.

Flushing, now that he was able to get a good view of what she was wearing, he walked over to grab his pack before going over to her. Her normal clothes showed off a lot of cleavage, but these ... things ... He wasn't sure they counted as clothing, showed off more skin than he'd ever seen from a girl. Kneeling down beside her, he then began to examine her wound, "I can use some herbs on this and stop the bleeding, but you're going to need stitches, and fast ... I can do it ... but I'm not trained for it, and it'll be more likely to scar."

She sighed deeply, "Not like there's much we can do about that, now is there?"

"Yeah," Luffy brought out his herbs from his pack and prepared what he needed, "Okay," he said, "this will stop the bleeding and the pain, and it will also numb your arm."

"Numbing is good ..." She said, looking down at her arm to watch him.

Pulling out thread and a needle, he then summoned a small flame over his finger to sterilize the needle. He looked at Nami, "Are you ready?"

She frowned with a small pout, but then sighed with her eyes closed and nodded, "Yes ..."

Luffy smiled at her pout. It made her face look even more adorable. It also struck him that she was trusting him with this. He took a deep breath and punctured her skin with the needle.

"Mm!" She exclaimed with a wince, feeling it, but only slightly. It wasn't too bad since she'd been numbed.

He finished as quickly as he could, while still doing a good job. "Sorry," he'd mutter under his breath each time she'd wince. Once he'd finished, he tied off the strings, and leaned back, releasing the breath he'd been holding for the last few stitches.

"Mm, not bad ... thanks ..." She muttered, reaching up to inspect the work he'd done.

"Whew," he sat down on his bed, wiping his brow. "That's good."

But then she sighed, "It looks horrible though ... I hope it doesn't scar too bad ..." She said, frowning softly as she ran a finger over it softly, but winced a bit.

"Sorry," he sighed. "I did the best I could. Since ... I know that smooth skin is important for girls ... at least that's what Ace told me."

She huffed, "Of course it is! Quit apologizing so much! It's annoying, especially when you probably don't even mean it, and who's Ace?" She said, turning pursed lips on him.

"I do mean it," he pouted, she was still being mean, "He's my older brother. He knows a whole ton of stuff."

Still frowning, she looked back at him, "That may not be saying much considering how much _you_ know ..."

"Meanie," he frowned at her, but then still smiled. His stomach growled. "I'm hungry. Let's go get dinner."

She blinked at the fact that he still smiled. What the hell's he got to be happy about? This thought, however, made her blush, "Right ..." She said, standing up immediately and heading out of the door, "The idiot ..."

He followed after her down the stairs to the dining area of the inn. The same woman was behind the counter, and when she looked up at them, she gasped, "Oh, thank goodness you're alright," she told Nami. "When your husband came back alone, I was afraid that something had happened." Luffy blinked, surprised. Husband? What was she talking about?

"Heh?" Nami asked, her lips twitching in a nervous smile, "Aaahaha! Wa-Wait!" She exclaimed, waving her arms about as her face flushed a bit, "We're not ...! He's not ...! He's not my husband-Aah!" She exclaimed suddenly, realizing that that probably sounded really bad, "I-I-I ... I mean ... Not yet! Hahaha! Or um ...!" She didn't want it to seem as if she was a loose woman, staying in the same room with a man who wasn't her husband, '_Damn it_!' "I-It ... um ...!"

"Oh," The woman flushed, incredibly embarrassed for the flustered woman. "I'm sorry ... I didn't mean ... um ..."

"Ah no!" Nami said, holding out a palm to her, "I-It's okay! Ha ... Haha ... A-Anyways ... we'd like some dinner ..."

Watching the two women, Luffy looked at them back and forth as if they were insane. What were they both so embarrassed about anyway? But then he perked up when Nami mentioned dinner, "O-Of course ... Right this way please." The woman led them to a table in the dining area.

Releasing a breath, Nami sagged forward, suddenly feeling very tired. However, she followed after the woman and sat down at the table, Luffy sitting down across from her, "Sooo..." he glanced over at Nami after the woman had left, "what was that back there?"

"Nothing-don't worry about it!" She suddenly snapped, going back to being bitchy in her irritation.

He frowned at her, but shrugged it off. "So, she thought we were married? But then you couldn't make up your mind whether we were or weren't?"

Sweat beaded down her face as it erupted into a blush, but then she slammed her hands down onto the table, disturbing the other diners, "It's not like that at all! As if I would want to be stuck with an ass like you!" She said before standing and heading out again, "I'm going back to the room! You can eat by yourself!" And as she passed the same woman, she said rather loudly, "I'll take my food in my room." Then she left the dining room and stormed up to their room, slamming the door behind her, "Hate that stupid little bastard ...!"

After Nami had stormed off, Luffy could only blink at where she had gone. Now what had he done? After dinner came, he ate it on his own, ignoring the slightly pitying look that the woman gave him. It tasted bland, but he didn't think it had anything to do with the cooking. He sighed. Nami was really beautiful, but why did she have to be angry all the time? Once he finished his dinner, he went back up to his room, and knocked on the door before opening it and sticking his head inside.

Having already eaten, Nami was now sitting on the window seat, looking outside, her now loose hair draped over her shoulder. She completely ignored him, not wanting to look at him at all. Sighing again, he walked in and flopped down on his bed. Beautiful, but she hated him. So why did he find her so fascinating?

Sighing herself, she reached up for her hair, combing her fingers through the thick mass and started to hum again. However, she seemed to have no idea she was doing it. Closing his eyes, he listened to the sound of her voice. It was very soothing, and allowed him to forget that she was angry at him.

After a few minutes, the humming stopped and her fingers stilled, and she sighed deeply to herself, feeling better for some reason. However, she had no idea why. Smiling to her reflection, she then stepped down off the seat, walking across to the bed in her bare feet. She was a bit put off that her clothes had been changed, but at least she had clothes. Pulling back the covers, she then sat down onto the bed, "I'm going to sleep ..." She said, laying down and covering herself.

"Yeah ..." Luffy didn't want to bring up that he hadn't been sleeping for the past few days. Even less so did he want to bring up what he thought might be the cure. He'd been thinking about it the past few days, and it had something to do with Nami - he was almost certain about it. But if she was already angry at him, he didn't want to push it.

"Had you been able to sleep while I was gone ...?"

He was silent for a moment, "No," he finally said.

"Mmm ..." She hummed to herself, "I kinda figured as much ..." She muttered, "You comin' to sleep or not ...?"

Rolling over, he sat up to stare at her. "You really mean it? I thought you were angry at me?"

"Don't be stupid ... I am angry at you ... but in order for me to get home ... you have to be strong enough to handle what comes our way ..." She said, her voice sounding irritated, "Now hurry up. I'm tired ... No idea why you can sleep when with me ... It's stupid ..."

Staring at her for a long while, his face then broke out into a wide grin, "Thanks," he said as he practically dove into the bed. He smiled at her as he adjusted himself in the bed, so his face was close to hers. "I've never met anyone as nice and mean as you."

She pursed her lips at him, "Shut up and go to sleep, idiot ... and mind your distance!" She said, turning her back on him with a grumble.

"Kay," he smiled despite her grumble, and closed his eyes.

Sighing deeply in her irritation, she then closed her eyes, trying to ignore how happy he seemed to be, and drifted off to sleep. For a while Luffy tried to sleep, but still nothing. Moving a bit in her sleep, Nami pressed her backside into him a bit, finding warmth there and moving back a bit to seek more.

Luffy tensed from the contact, but once he realized that she was asleep, he relaxed, but still, he couldn't sleep. He considered what he'd been thinking about, and knew that if she wasn't asleep, she would kill him. Closing his eyes and adjusting his breathing to pretend he was asleep, he rolled over, draping his arm over her so that his hand was touching her breast. For a tense moment, he waited, but when she didn't react, he relaxed and was asleep in seconds.

That night, Nami had a dream that someone had groped her breast. What was it about her breasts that people wanted to touch them? Groaning a bit as she woke up, her face scrunched up a bit before her eyes blinked open. Was it just her ... or was someone actually groping her breast?

Luffy's hand twitched in his sleep. Nami's brow and lips twitched as she looked down at Luffy's hand over her breast and could feel that he was pressed up flush against her back. But when Luffy snuggled his face into her neck, trying to get closer to the warmth that was right next to him, Nami almost squealed, "Ngh!" She stiffened completely, her teeth clamping down as she bore them, becoming angrier by the second, "Lu-ff-y ..."

"Mmuh?" He didn't want to wake up.

"Get ... off of me ...!" She seethed through clenched teeth.

"Huh?" His hand slipped off her breast, but he didn't wake up. He needed to make up for the last few days, having gotten back into the habit of sleeping after just those few days.

Pulling her arm forward, she elbowed his gut hard before slipping out of the bed, "Perv ...!"

"Ugh!" He groaned and sat up in a flash. "What the hell was that for?"

"You had your hand on my breast, you perverted jerk!" She yelled at him over her shoulder as she started to braid her hair back up.

"Wha?" He flushed. "It was still there?"

"What do you mean ... _it was still there_!?" She exclaimed, whirling around on him, her long hair swirling around her, "You did it on _purpose_!?"

"Wait, wait," he spread his hands in front of him, and shook his head. "I had to be certain!"

"Had to be certain about what!?" She said, scowling deeply as she stormed over to him.

He swallowed, she was really scary that close. "I wasn't falling asleep, and the last few times that I fell asleep, I was touching your ... I ... umm ... well, you're breasts were touching me ... so I thought ..."

Clenching her fists tightly at her sides, her breasts heaving with every deep and angry breath she took, she finally gasped out with her fury before screaming, "You ... perverted ass," and then slapping him across the face, "Forget it! You're not sleeping with me anymore! I don't care if you get weaker! I will be so happy to be as far away from you as I possibly can be!" She continued to scream before storming out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Wait," he threw his clothes on and ran after her, trying to ignore the sting on his cheek, "You don't understand ..."

"You go away! I don't even want to look at you right now!" She yelled over her shoulder as she practically ran down the stairs to get to the outside, not feeling the least bit hungry at that moment.

"Wait," he ran after her. "Please," he grabbed her unwounded shoulder. "I should have asked, but I wasn't sure ... I'm really sorry ...."

Yanking her shoulder out of his grasp, she then shoved him away from her, "You're not touching my breasts, whether you _ask_ or not!" She said before whirling around and ignoring the stares she was getting from what she'd said.

"But ..." he glanced around at the people staring at them, shook his head and ran after her. "I'm really, really sorry. I-Listen ... I just need to figure out why your ... um ... chest interrupts the curse placed on me. Please, I promise not to do anything, but I really need to figure this curse out."

"Well, figure it out in a way that doesn't involve me!" She said, turning and slipping the bag of gold off his waist, "I'm going shopping for new clothes. Just leave me alone." She said, turning and walking away from him.

"But-But ... it has something to do with you," he muttered as she walked off with the money. Sighing, he turned and walked back to the inn. He was hungry.

Shopping for some clothes ought to blow off some of her steam. He really did piss her off. Huffing, she walked into the store, and began buying a few things plus necessities. She found a rather cute outfit that reminded her of the clothes Luffy spoke about with the wealthy woman he'd spoke of, even if it did show off her cleavage a bit. Then she also bought a night dress to sleep in instead of her normal clothes. Plus, she bought two skirts and two more bodices, both with which were on sale. She also purchased a few under garments and a pack to carry it all in.

However, she then spotted a very pretty dress. Biting her lip, she went over to it and had a better look at it. However, her eyes widened at the price. It really was pretty, and she had imagined herself wearing something like it before. She had more than enough with the pouch she'd taken from Luffy. After all, she was working too, wasn't she? Snatching it off the rack, she went to pay for it. Feeling a bit better, she then headed back to the inn for some brunch. She was hungry now.

Still sitting in the dining room, Luffy was taking his time eating and probably eating a lot. However, he wanted to figure this problem out, and eating helped him. He tried to figure it out, but it always came down to the fact that her breasts put him to sleep. And whenever he came to that part, he started thinking more about her breasts and got distracted.

After putting the pack up in the room, she frowned when she didn't see him there. However, she was hungry, and so she then headed down to the dining room. However, she halted when she saw him there and growled a bit before whirling around to leave.

Looking up from his meal, Luffy spotted Nami about to leave the room. Getting up quickly, he walked after her, using his magic to speed himself u, and took her by the arm, "At least eat something," he said. "I'll leave if you don't want to be around me."

Turning her head to look at him, she wore a deep frown before yanking her arm away from him, "I don't need your concern!" She said before pushing passed him to go inside and sitting at the table he'd been seated at.

Sighing deeply, he just turned and went back up to the room. The woman at the counter looked at him when he passed, "Is everything all right with your ... lady?"

"Huh?" Luffy blinked, "Oh, she's fine. She's just mad at me."

He walked up to the room and laid down on his bed. Sleep had done him a world of good, but he still hadn't fully recovered, and it looked like he wouldn't be getting more sleep any time soon. If only he could figure out what it was about her breasts that made him fall asleep.

**To Be Continued …**

**Authors' Note:**

Con: Dumb luck ... ;_; *Still crying*

Dart: 8D

Con: So ... anyways ... Nami was able to break out of that spell ... A bit odd ...

Dart: Yes...wish I remembered exactly what happened in the chapter...It's been a while…

Con: *Is totally going back to refresh her memory at that very moment* Indeed ... ~.~ And Nami is still as mean as ever, even though he totally came and got her ... T_T That makes me sad. How long do you think it'll last? ;-)

Dart: A long, long time. Don't be expecting any fluff any time soon...or was that ever? Humm...Yeah, she's pretty evil at times.

Con: Luffy ... T_T I wanna hug 'im ... But ... What goes around comes around. X3

Dart: Indeed. Well, he is being one heck of an idiot.

Con: Indeed he is! XD Well, I guess we will just see what happens, huh? XD

Dart: Sure thing. Heh. We should probably speed up our releases though...

Con: By the way, you are currently cleaning my bathroom.

Dart: I...see?

Con: Shishishi, in my Restaurant City game on Facebook! :-D I'm addicted ... ~.~ I named it Baratie! :-D

Dart: And I am a character in this game cleaning your bathroom because...? Is this because of all the boobie jokes? I can stop if you want me to.......Boobies.

Con: *Totally had to remove the word Boobies from at the end up the last sentence of this chapter* No, it's because you do it really well. X) Even Ara said so. She was watching you. Fufufu~! X3

Dart: ...Sooo...it wasn't a good idea to give you people my Facebook account?

Con: What are you talking about!? XD It was a great idea~! Because now I can use you all I want! And let's face it. You know you like being a part of my pirate crew as Usopp ... XP We already almost have the whole crew! :-D

Dart: XD Indeed. Though I wouldn't mind being a little more badass than that...Ah what the heck, I can do his voice well, apparently.

Con: Indeed you can~! ;-) Anyways~! Until next time! XD Ja ne~~!


	5. Chapter 5: He Exorcises

**Authors' Note:**

Darth: Well...this took forever. Blame time! I blame you!

Con: Me ...? ;_; But ... But ... But ... I've been busy co-writing a book series ... *Cries* So mean ...

Darth: AH-HAH! She admits it!

Con: Eeeh!? D: But I'm doing something worthwhile~! And it's fun too~! -^^-

Darth: XD Indeed. I've been doing worthwhile stuff too. Course it's not fun...seeing as it's homework.

Con: Indeed ... I've also got my other fics I work on ... ~.~ Man ... that's a lot ... My mind is really tired ... And the pressure doesn't help ... I'm constantly pressured to write and update faster!!! D: *Screams and faints* X_x *Mind overload*

Darth: In other news, I went and saw a play yesterday. Frankenstein. You know, no matter what people try, that story really isn't frightening. Though I thought the twist at the ending where Frankenstein just shoots the monster was interesting.

Con: Oh, I see ... o.o *Stares blankly for awhile* Anyways~! On to the story! :-D *Ignores Dart*

Darth: Ignore me not!

Con: Enjoy the chapter! :-D *Keeps ignoring*

Darth: OI!

**Charmed**

**Chapter 5: He Exorcises**

Nami tapped her fingernail on the table and then realized she could have changed. However, she'd been too distracted with the fact that the idiot hadn't been in the room. Why had that distracted her? Sighing, she waited to be served. The hostess came to the orange haired woman. "We still have some porridge left. I could have the cook make some bacon and eggs, maybe some toast. And we have some fruit that I could bring out."

"Fruit with toast is fine ... and the porridge ... please," said Nami, still tapping her nail on the table with her head rested on her fist. He irritated her to no end. She couldn't wait to get away from him. The hostess left and quickly returned with the food. It was sad, to see a couple having trouble. Even if she wasn't sure what exactly was happening between them. After she'd delivered the food she glanced with a sad expression in her eye at the woman before leaving. It was such a shame, he was such a good looking man too, and seemed like a good person.

With a sigh, Nami ate her food before sluggishly going back up to the room, not really looking forward to it. Opening the door without bothering to knock, she stepped inside and headed for her bag. When Nami came inside, Luffy glanced up at her. She still seemed like she was in a bad mood, so he decided not to say anything. "Turn around," she suddenly said in an even voice as she pulled out some clothes.

Rolling over so he was facing the wall, he said, "I won't peek."

"You'd better not!" she threw over her shoulder before disrobing completely. Then she pulled on the undergarments and then the cute outfit she'd gotten. She flushed a bit, looking at herself in the mirror. It looked good on her, or so she thought. He flushed, hearing the sounds of her undressing, tempting him to peek. But he knew if he did she'd kill him. Brushing her hands over the dress, she smiled and sighed contentedly, "Okay, I'm done!" she said with a huff as she turned around. Turning around to look at her, he stared, speechless. She flushed vaguely, pursing her lips before turning and walking away with a huff, saying, "Hmph! Don't look at me like that!"

"Sorry," he kept staring. "I ... just ... uh ... yeah ..."

Turning her head to peer at him slightly, her flush deepened before she headed for the door. "We have more jobs we gotta do ..." she said, braiding her hair real quick as she walked out of the door.

"Yeah ..." he flushed harder and cleared his throat. "Umm," he stood up and followed her, "it's a nice dress ..."

"Thanks ..." she muttered a she made her way down the stairs. "Let's check for normal jobs around here ..."

"You're welcome," he said, glancing at her sideways. She really did look amazingly beautiful, but then he looked ahead. "We should check by the mayor's office. Some of the more normal jobs should be there."

"Right," she said, heading out of the door.

He followed after her, all the way to the major's office, and once inside, Luffy went to the job's board. Nami's cheeks were flushed from some of the heads that turned as she walked, even more heads turning to look at her in the Mayor's office.

Looking over the jobs on the board, Luffy grabbed his chin in thought as he read over each one. '_Let's see ... rat infestation in ... Hell no_!' "Here this looks easy," he gestured at the posting, "There's a haunting in a house on the outskirts."

Nami shuddered and stuttered, "A ... A haunting ...?"

"Yeah, it'll be easy," said Luffy, taking down the paper. "Just have to set up some barriers, trap the spirit and exorcise it. Piece of cake."

"I ... I don't know about that ..." she said, paling considerably.

"Don't worry about it. Ghosts are more of a nuisance than anything else," he said, clapping her on her shoulder. "There's nothing here important enough for an actual dangerous ghost to be here. It'll be a piece of cake."

"S-Still ..." she said, frowning at him deeply, looking afraid for the first time in awhile … possibly since he'd first taken her.

He looked over at her and tried a comforting smile. "Don't worry," he said, patting her gently on her back. "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

She pursed her lips at him, but her face was still pale. "I-I don't need you ... looking out for me!" she cried, but then suddenly, she was tapped on the shoulder, "Huh?" she questioned, turning around. She saw a young man about her age with a blush to his cheeks, and he held out his hands, in his palms was an orange.

"I-I just ... wanted to say ... that you were very beautiful and ... I wanted you to have this!" he cried, extending his hands and bowing his head.

"Heh ...?" she questioned, her lips twitching into a nervous and confused smile, but she took the orange and said, "Th-Thanks ..." The young man suddenly ran out of the office.

Watching the young man run out, Luffy frowned deeply and whispered, "What the...?" but then he shook his head. "Let's go," he said, starting to walk out of the building. Blinking at Luffy then, still confused, her cheeks then flushed. The young man had been rather handsome. However, looking around, she noticed a few jealous glares. Luffy huffed and looked back to see if she was coming and asked, "You coming?"

She pursed her lips further. "What're you upset about!? And just so you know, he was better looking than you too!" she exclaimed, though she had no idea why that came out of her mouth.

"E-Excuse ... me ...?"

"Heh?" questioned Nami, turning to almost a face full of flowers, "Heh!?"

"Ah ... y-you were ... so beautiful ... walking by ... Please ... take these ..."

"Hah!?" she exclaimed in a high pitched voice, even more confused now.

"Excuse me ... Please ... have this apple ... I'm afraid it's all I have ..."

"_Hah_!?" She exclaimed, backing up in even more confusion. What the hell!?

"What does that have to do with anything?" snorted Luffy, looking even more annoyed as more and more young men were coming towards her with different items, making his eyebrow twitch. "All right, that's it!" he cried, taking her hand and pulling her away from the would be suitors. "We have a job to do! You guys are getting in the way. Now beat it!" he yelled over his shoulder to them.

"Oye!" they called, following after them. "Why do you get to have the beautiful woman!?"

"Eeeh!? What the hell is going on!?" she exclaimed, a bit flushed though in flattery as she was dragged away. But then she turned to frown at him. What the hell was he so upset about all of a sudden?

"Because she's my partner, and we have a job to do!" he yelled back at them.

She blinked at him, her flush deepening a little more at his sudden possession of her, but then she pursed her lips. "But they were giving me stuff!" she exclaimed, clutching the orange to her chest. She really liked oranges, and it reminded her of her mother's orchard.

"Hmph," he snorted. "Well we're going to get easy money. You can buy all the stuff you want then."

"But it was free!" she said, pouting her lips at him now.

"Just wanna get the job done," he muttered.

"Hmph!" she said, turning her chin up at him, "Right ..."

As they walked to the haunted house, Luffy had time to calm down, glancing over at Nami over his shoulder. Well, the dress looked great on her, so there was no surprise that men would be interested in her, but still ... "Sorry," he muttered, turning back around, "for getting so annoyed."

Her lips were still pursed and yelled, "And why was that anyways!?"

"Dunno," he muttered. "Just got annoying ... all those guys ... getting in the way ..."

"Uh huh ... Well ... I'm so sorry for getting in the way of your job ... I'm so sorry that I'm so annoying that you want to _get_ to your jobs so quickly to get rid of me!" she exclaimed as she pushed passed him roughly to get to the house. "Jerk!" she yelled over her shoulder.

"What? No!" he cried, rushing after her. "You're not annoying! They were being annoying!"

"No they weren't! They were just giving me stuff! There's nothing wrong with that! You're just a jerk!" she threw over her shoulder as she approached the door and knocked on it. Coming up beside her, Luffy just pursed his lips at her.

A harrowed looking woman opened the door and peeked her head out. "What do you want?" she asked, looking back at them suspiciously.

"Ah ...!" exclaimed Nami, stepping back as she turned white.

Chuckling at her, Luffy stepped passed her and asked quietly, "Want me to handle this?" She pursed her lips at him, though she was sweating nervously, but stepped back with a huff. "Hello," said Luffy, stepping up to the door.

"What do you want?" repeated the woman.

"We're here to take care of the haunting," said Luffy, giving a stiff bow, but keeping his eyes on her.

Glancing around nervously, she said quickly, "I don't know what you're talking about ..." There was a loud crash and unnatural scream from the top level of the house.

Looking up to the second floor, Luffy cocked an eyebrow before looking back down at her and asking, "You sure you don't want us to take a look?"

The woman stepped aside and let them into the house, but as Luffy glanced around, he saw that it was a mess."Messy guy, isn't he?" he muttered, stopping just inside.

A shiver ran up Nami's spine as she paled even further. "U-Um ... I ..." she said, beginning to shake, though she had a smile, "I-I dunno ... if ..."

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," said Luffy, smiling at Nami. "Ghosts really aren't that bad once you get used to them, but this made the harrowed woman stared at him like he was crazy. "So, where is most of the activity?" he asked the woman.

"Upstairs ... in our children's room," she replied, pointing up at the ceiling. Luffy nodded and started up the stairs.

"Ch-Children's room?" whispered Nami, frowning softly to the woman, "What kind of a ghost is it?"

"It would always come in and whisper to them, and move things around the room. We tried to move them to another room. But then the ghost started getting violent, throwing furniture around ..." The woman's voice trailed off.

Luffy grinned widely and said, "That's all it did? This should be easy." Nami's frown turned a little more concerned as she stepped further inside after Luffy, staring up to the ceiling. "Where are the children right now?" he asked the woman.

"We ... We moved them to a relative's in another town."

Luffy nodded absentmindedly. That was good. He pulled out a bag of sand and poured a handful into his hand. Closing his eyes, he tried to focus. "Wha-What're you doing ...?" asked Nami, her frown deepening a little.

"Trying to find the ghost," muttered Luffy, but then he spoke to the woman, "What happened after you sent the children away?"

"That's when the ghost got more violent. We tried to get rid of it, but the exorcist ran away when the ghost threw a table at him."

Luffy snorted. "Usopp," he muttered and opened his eyes again. "Strange. I can't find it."

"We-Well ... shouldn't we ... go upstairs ... and get closer to it ...?" asked Nami, paling more as she moved for the stairs.

"Oh, yeah," muttered Luffy, but then asked the woman, "Could you show us the room?"

"This way," she replied, showing them up the stairs.

The room was a complete mess. What used to be beds were shreds of mattresses and wooden frames. Luffy closed his eyes again, and almost immediately threw the sand into a corner in the room. What looked like an arm formed out of the sand, and immediately started clambering up the wall.

"Shit," swore Luffy. "I missed him!"

"Eee!" screeched Nami, stiffening as she turned as white as a sheet and her eyes grew enormously large. Out of impulse, she moved quickly and clung to Luffy's side. Pulling out a paper with an exorcism spell on it, Luffy cast an enchantment and threw it at the ghost. The arm crawled out of the way and jumped at Nami. "Kyaaa!" she screamed, clutching Luffy tighter before burying her face into his arm.

"Damn!" swore Luffy again, and he pulled out another enchantment, but froze. The ghost arm was ... on the ground, as if the rest of the body was crouched in front of Nami. Kind of like a dog.

After a moment, Nami blinked her eyes open and then looked down at the arm, her body stiffened again with fear as she groaned. However, the hand pawed at the fringe of Nami's dress. "Eee!" she screeched, pressing more into Luffy's side with her fear, but then blinked down at the arm. "E-Eh ...? Wha-Wha-Wha ... What is it doing ...?"

"I'm ... not sure ..." said Luffy, frowning down at the arm that was now pawing the ground. "Okay ... this is really weird ..."

"Heh ...?" questioned Nami, her lips twitching nervously as she stared down at the arm. "Okay ... when it's just an arm ... it's really creepy ... Where's the rest of the body ...?"

"Huh? Oh, it's there, we just can't see it." said Luffy, pulling out another enchantment. "The sand makes ghosts visible, but I only hit the arm," he added, glancing at Nami. "I don't think it's going to hurt us ..."

"Ah ... right ..." she said, clearing her throat and releasing his arm and side and moving away slightly, but she stepped behind him anyways.

The arm followed Nami. As it passed, Luffy pressed the enchantment to it. There was a bright flash, and the sand fell to the ground. "There," he said, smiling at Nami behind him and getting a glance down the front of her dress, which made him flush. "That's done," he said, quickly looking away.

Nami blinked when it disappeared, wondering why it had been following her, "Oh ... that ... that _was_ easy ... I guess ..." she said, rubbing her arm a bit as the sudden chill dissipated.

"I'd say too easy, but ... yeah ... Normally, it should be harder than that," he said, picking up the spent enchantment. It would be proof of having accomplished the job. "Weird how it was acting like a dog though. Not quite sure what the deal with that was."

"Why was he following me around too ...? That was a little creepy ..." she said, before huffing and heading for the stairs. However, she suddenly shuddered and took a step back to wait for him to follow. She really didn't wanna go off anywhere alone.

Following after her, he then grinned and said, "Maybe your new dress is just that good?"

Blinking after him, Nami's cheeks flushed hotly before gasping and running after him. However, she shuddered again as her back was exposed, glancing behind her a few times before squealing and attaching herself to his back anyways as they approached the woman. She wanted out of that house as soon as possible.

Luffy flushed at the feel of her front pressed against his back. It felt nice. Maybe he should take her to haunted houses more often. As they passed the woman, Luffy said, "Job taken care of. It should be safe to bring your kids back," but then he looked around, "as soon as you get the place fixed up again." Then he turned to Nami, still attached to his back, "Come on," he told her, "Let's go collect our reward from the mayor's office."

"Ah, r-right ..." she said, pushing him out of the house now and taking a deep breath in relief once they were outside in the sunlight once again.

Once they were outside, Luffy wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her around to his side. "There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" he said with a big grin.

Blinking a few times with a flush, she then pursed her lips and elbowed him away. "It was fine!" she said before stomping off in irritation.

"Oof," he grunted. "Aww, now you're back to being mean?" he called and followed after her.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" she yelled over her shoulder as they walked back into town. However, she flushed at all the eyes on her. However, a few of those eyes were jealous glares from the earlier incident. Luffy glared back at the men from earlier, daring them to come closer. The men seemed to cower away from the glare, not daring to get anywhere near that man, seeing as he was making it clear that he'd made his claim on the beautiful woman. Once they were in the mayor's office, they collected their pay and left.

Once they'd gotten their reward and were headed back to the inn, Nami had sighed in a bit of relief that, even though they were still looking at her, for some reason, they weren't coming close to her like the last time. She vaguely wondered why, but it didn't really matter. Luffy decided to look through their reward money, to make sure they'd been paid enough.

"So, how much do we have so far? I ... spent about forty gold pieces when I went shopping, so ..." she said, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Let's see..." said Luffy, counting through the gold pieces. "With yesterday and today, and what you've spent ... that should be about eight hundred and sixty? I think ..."

"So ... we still have about a thousand, two hundred and forty more to go ..." She said with a nod, "And forget the horse ... I think I can deal as long as I ride in the back ..." she said a bit sarcastically as she turned her back on him, "I wonder if there are any more jobs ... There didn't really seem to be all that many at the mayor's office ... Maybe we should move on to the next place ..."

"Yeah ..." said Luffy as he sighed. "We should check the job postings one last time before we leave though, just to be safe."

"Yeah, I guess we could ... We should also check how much a ferry ride is to the next town. I did some checking around while I went shopping. You can only get to the next town through ferry and it takes about a day ... We may also have to pay a fee for the horse ..."

"Urgh," groaned Luffy. "Oh well ... it will be easier once we make it to a bigger city. They'll have plenty of jobs there, and since we'll cut down traveling expenses we'll be able to save the money."

She nodded then. "Well, no sense in sticking around. Let's go ..." she said, heading back out again with her things.

"'Kay," replied Luffy, gathering up his luggage and following after her. "You know, if we found a dragon we wouldn't have to worry about finding other jobs ..."

Sighing, Nami glared at him over her shoulder and said, "I'm not doing a dragon job ..."

Luffy snickered and said, "But maybe it'll be all tame, like that ghost."

She puffed out her cheeks and turned angry eyes on him, "You're out of your mind!"

"And you're no fun," he grinned, noticing how cute she looked even when she was angry, with how she had her cheeks puffed out like that.

"Hmph!" she huffed, turning back around quickly and flushing softly that he was smiling at her again. She noticed that he was smiling more and more instead of frowning at her or fussing at her, which made her feel a little weird. "Anyways, let's just hurry ..." she muttered, pulling the bag strap more onto her shoulder.

"Kaaaay~!" called Luffy cheerfully as they got to the horse, climbed on, and held out his hand to Nami. He flushed at the excellent view this angle was giving him, the new dress left much less to the imagination. Pursing her lips at him, she took his hand and climbed atop the horse behind him.

They made their way down to the docks, where Luffy found that the ferry would be leaving soon. The horse would cost a little extra, but it wasn't unreasonable. Climbing off the horse, Luffy offered to help Nami down. Quirking her lips to the side, as if considering whether or not she'd let him help her, she then just sighed and leaned into his waiting hands for him to help her down.

Luffy smiled at her when she let him help her. "Wow," he said after he'd helped her to the ground.

Her cheeks flared up a bit, "Wow!? What're you wow-ing for!?" she yelled, getting upset, but then turned her back on him to get her bag.

"Oh, nothing," he said, but something was off. Now, he was thinking she was really cute even when she was angry. "You're just really light, that's all," he replied.

"Oh ... well ... I should be ..." she said, though she knew what she was saying made no sense whatsoever. Putting her pack on, she then just walked ahead towards the ferry, letting him take care of the rest.

Luffy blinked ... That didn't make sense ... Well, she was smaller than him ... in certain places ... in others she was bigger. Either way, he guessed she should be lighter. He followed after her, leading their ... his horse up the plank, where a crew member took it below deck. After having paid the passage, they were escorted to one of the passenger cabins. It was small, but they were the only ones in it. "Huh," muttered Luffy, "Why do we need a cabin if we're only going to be traveling for a day?"

"Because it's already into the afternoon ... It takes a few hours. It's just so we can relax or something ..." She said, putting her pack down.

"That makes sense," replied Luffy, sitting down on the bed. "Huh, wonder why there's only one bed?"

Sighing and drooping, she then turned to him with a frown. "Probably because they made the same mistake as that woman," she said with a bit of a whine.

"Ah ... right ..." replied Luffy, chuckling nervously and not wanting Nami to get in another bad mood. Sure it was kinda cute, but he didn't like her yelling at him. "Oh well, it's not like we're going to be sleeping here. At least, I won't," he said with a shrug.

She blinked softly, looking back at him. "Why not? And who knows how long exactly it might take ..." she said, walking up to the single window to look out.

"Well ... you know ... there's only space for one person, and since you can actually sleep," he started, looking down and kicking his feet slightly.

"Oh ... well ..." she started, turning towards him and realizing it was a rather small bunk, "M-Maybe we'll make it to the next town before then ... or something ..." she muttered before turning back to the window.

"Yeah ..." he replied quietly. Wait, was she suggesting that he could sleep with her again? He didn't want to bring it up; afraid that she'd remember having said she'd never sleep with him again.

"We could always ask how long ... it would take ..." she said, still looking out of the window.

"I guess we could ..." he said, standing up to find someone to ask. He left the cabin and found a crewmember who didn't look to busy. "Hey, I was wondering, how long is it to the next town?" he asked, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"About a day sir, give or take a few hours," replied the crewmember.

"Thanks," replied Luffy, going back to the cabin. "They said about a day," he told Nami.

Nami turned and narrowed her eyes at him, "But we knew that already ... I meant for you to ask for specifics ... as in ... will we be needing to stay here for the night ..."

"Oh, yeah ..." replied Luffy, staring at her. "Well, if it's a whole day, then we'll probably be getting there this time tomorrow ... so you'll probably have to sleep before then."

"Yeah ... I guess so ..." she said, turning back around again and ringing out her fingers. "Um ..." she started, feeling a bit uncomfortable, and perhaps considering not saying anything at all, "You know ... about ... earlier ... and ... what I said ... and all ... I was ... really angry and ... y-you shouldn't be touching my breasts or anything!" she suddenly said, getting upset again in an instant from her nervousness and the fact that he touched her, "I-It's already the second time!"

"I ... yeah ..." he said, feeling just as nervous as she sounded. He wondered why she was nervous. After all, he'd expect her to be angry. "I'm really sorry for making you so angry ... but I didn't touch there because I wanted to upset you ... or for any other reason. I just thought that it was the key to me falling asleep ... so I ... yeah ..."

"W-Well ... is it?" she asked, frowning with a bit of concern.

"I ... I think so ... I fell asleep right after ... you know ..." he replied, starting to sweat and fear for his life. "But ... I'm still trying to figure out why."

Still staring out of the window, she frowned a little deeper before turning to him and asking, "I want to see this for myself ..."

His eyes widened. "Eh ... what?" he asked, looking a little shocked.

"You heard me. I want to see for myself that that's really the only way you can sleep. So tonight, before I fall asleep, we're going to see if you really fall asleep just from touching my breasts ..." she said, still frowning at him deeply, "At least this way, you're not just doing it _without asking me first_." she said, putting a bit more punctuation into her words to point out his error.

"O ... Oh," he replied with a blink as his face flushed. "I ... I see ..." He didn't doubt that it would help him fall asleep, but the thought of her willingly allowing him to touch her breasts was enough to deepen his blush.

"Hmph!" she huffed as she turned away, "Don't let it get you so excited! I just want to see this for myself!"

Luffy waved his hands in front of him. "Nononono, I'm not excited, I swear." he said and rubbed the back of his head. "I was just thinking how I'm going to enjoy finally getting regular sleep again."

"Right ..." she said, her cheeks flushing in the reflection of herself in the window. She was beginning to think there may be truth to what he was saying. After all, when she'd been helping to patch up his wounds awhile back, he had passed out on top of her, and if she recalled correctly, she had brushed her breasts up against his back.

xxxx

The day passed quite tediously. Luffy'd decided to spend some time studying his spell book. He only really knew the body manipulation spells and was pretty weak at most others. If he wanted to surpass his brother, and father and grandfather, then he needed to spend more time studying. It was insanely dull though, and he preferred using his spells to actually fight, not studying them. After several hours, the sun was starting to go down.

Nami had remained sitting at the window the whole time. She had a lot to think about and let her mind wander, but once the sun had gone down, she stretched her arms out before standing and going to her bag. "Don't look ... I'm going to change," she said, digging around in her bag to find her night dress.

"Right," said Luffy, closing his book and turning away from her.

Removing the night dress she'd bought, she laid it out on the floor before removing her dress carefully, making sure not to crease it too much, and then she slipped on her night dress. However, she frowned and blushed a bit to the thinner material, seeing as her perky nipples were showing through again, "Mmm ..."

"Eh?" asked Luffy, shifting around a little. "Are you done?"

"Um ... y-yeah ..." She said, standing up and clearing her throat as she turned towards him, her cheeks still flushed as she hugged her arms across her chest.

Turning around, Luffy found himself staring at her again. He noticed how she kept her arms hugged to her chest and raised an eyebrow at that. The nightgown was very form fitting and seemed an inadequate barrier against anything, let alone the cold. He blushed, when he noticed how he could see her panty line through the thin material again.

Maybe she should have let him touch her _before_ changing into this. Now the material wasn't nearly thick enough, which made her cheeks flush harder. Well, whatever. He would only touch her for a second anyways, because then he was supposed to fall asleep right away. Clearing her throat, she headed for the bunk and sat down in front of him, though she kept her arms wrapped around herself, "All right, so ... let's see this ..."

"Right ..." he replied and swallowed as he glanced at her arms covering her chest. "So ..."

Shuddering, her arms twitched a bit as if considering just forgetting about it, but then she slowly lowered her arms. However, her entire face flushed as she looked away completely, knowing he would see that her nipples were visible through the thin material.

His face flamed deeper, despite the fact that he was certain it couldn't possibly have gotten worse. He'd never seen a woman completely naked, so he wasn't exactly sure what they looked like. Now he had a better idea. Before he'd actually thought that breasts were just completely round, now he knew otherwise. He slowly raised his hand to her chest, and took a deep breath. Swallowing hard, she shifted her eyes to watch him and see if he did pass out right away or not. She was at the ready to smack him and rip his hand away if he didn't, but then she yelled, "Hurry up! Quit staring!"

"Oh, right," he said and placed his hand on her chest.

Sucking in her breath and stiffening to the touch, her entire face reddened as a shock surged throughout her body. "Mm!" she exclaimed, clamping her eyes shut. Luffy's eyes lost focus and rolled back into his head. He fell back onto the bed and started snoring.

Opening her eyes, she blinked down at him as they widened in shock that he did actually pass out, "Hoo!" she exclaimed, climbing over him a bit to wave a hand in front of his face, and then even gave him a few pinches. "Oh my God ..." she whispered to herself, reddening a bit more. "But ... why ...?" she continued to whisper with a frown as she sat up. Pondering on it a little more, she stretched out his legs, removed his boots, and then covered him with a blanket. Sighing, she then looked up and blinked, noticing a bunk there. Taking it out, she then curled up and went to sleep as well.

When Luffy woke up it was still dark, and he didn't feel rested at all. "Dammit," he groaned. "Nami? You awake?"

Groaning and frowning in her sleep, she finally blinked her eyes open and frowned down at him. "What is it ...?" she asked, but then she blinked again, realizing he was awake, and so she sat up, though she brought the covers with her, "Luffy ...?"

"I woke up again," he muttered.

She frowned a little deeper and said, "But ... why? I thought that ..."

"I dunno," he muttered, and thought about it. "Wait ... the other times I ..."

"The other times, what ...?" she said, frowning even deeper, not liking where this was going, because she had a feeling she knew what he was about to say.

"I ... think it worked because ..." he started, swallowing thickly. "I kept in contact ... with ... umm ..."

"Mmmoh! This has to be someone's idea of a sick joke! Well, it ain't funny!" she exclaimed, falling hard back into the bunk.

"Sorry ..." he muttered. "You don't have to ... if you don't want to ..."

She sighed deeply, staring up at the ceiling, but then she said softly, though still a bit irritated, "It's not your fault …Fine ..." Throwing back her covers, she climbed off the bunk and closed it before crawling into his bunk. "Hurry up ... I want to get back to sleep ..." she said, still sounding irritated.

"Right ..." he said, lying back down. "Wouldn't it be easier if we just lay side by side? Like, I face the wall, and you face me. Then I could have contact with your ... but I wouldn't actually be touching them?"

She sighed and moved over, pressing her breasts into his back and muttered, "Fine ..." Luffy stiffened at the contact and then relaxed, falling asleep almost instantly.

Looking around with a blink, she saw that he passed out and sighed with a slight pout. How did this have to happen? Sighing again, she then closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

**To Be Continued …**

**Authors' Note:**

Con: So, her boobies ARE the key ... Lucky for Luffy ... or maybe not so lucky? o.o

Darth: I vote lucky.

Con: You would.

Darth: Speaking of boobies, I'm looking at some right now.

Con: You scare me ... Well, I vote it's still NOT her boobies. ;-) Bahahaha! What could it be though? X)

Darth: I dunno, as long as it's not something lame like Heart. Poor, poor Ma'tui, shafter in the superpower department...just like Brook actually.

Con: What the hell are you talking about? Maybe it is the power of Heart! Fire, Wind, Water, Heart! With your powers combined ... I AM ... CAPTAIN PLANET! Shanks would be proud! X) *Inside joke between Ara and I*

Darth: *Feels very left out*

Con: *Snicker* Well, I hope you guys enjoyed(emphasis on the guys). Until next time~! :-D

Darth: later.


	6. Chapter 6: She Laughs

**Authors' Note:**

Con: All right, so, it's been awhile again, but I think I'm going to try and get at least these chapters out, since they're already written. That is if you can get me the cleaned up versions for me to work on ... -.-

Darth: Hey, I have...school...that's it.

Con: Lame ... get me those chapters, Neko!Dart. Don't let those long sleeves and emo bangs in your eyes slow you down. XP *Snicker*

Darth: Damn...whatshisface...Because of him I've seen hell!

Con: You are hell ... *Picks nose* You know we're never going to let you live this one down. *Smirks* Especially with your small feet and star in your hair~!

Darth: "You are hell"? The hell does that mean?

Con: On with the chapter! XD *Ignores Dart* We hope you guys enjoy the chapter~! :D

Darth: Oi …

**Charmed**

**Chapter 6: She Laughs**

Luffy woke the next morning more rested than ever. But he didn't feel Nami moving, so he figured he'd go back to sleep. Her light weight on his chest was actually quite comforting ... Wait, what? Luffy started sweating. Hoboy, how did they end up like this? She was going to kill him when she woke up. Well ... it was pretty comfortable, so he could enjoy it for now.

Groaning a bit in her sleep, Nami snuggled more into his chest, her legs clamping a bit more on either side of his waist, though it made her press down a bit more onto his body. The cover was snug around her, keeping her warm along with his body. However, she started to squirm a bit over him, grinding against him. Her brow twitching when she subconsciously realized she wasn't on a flat surface.

Feeling himself reacting to her movements, he thought to himself, this was going to be worse than he'd thought. '_Think unsexy thoughts - think unsexy thoughts..._'

After a moment, she groaned and blinked her eyes open, but then frowned at the pressure pressing up against her. "Luffy ...?" she called in a low voice.

Luffy considered pretending to be asleep. Yeah, that was a good idea. "Mmuh?" he questioned, sounding drowsy.

She sat up and punched his chest. "I know you're not asleep! What the hell am I doing on you!?" she exclaimed, angrily. Though, she wasn't considering the fact that she was now straddling him, which was now a straight shot up. Oh wait, now she realized that. Squealing then, she got off him fast before giving an angry scream, "Mmmoh! You're such a pervert!"

"Oh come on!" he cried, backing away from her. "It's the morning! Not my fault!'

"Not your fault!?" she yelled, getting angrier and angrier. "What the hell was I doing on top of you then!?"

"I don't know!" he insisted, "I was asleep. I woke up, and there you were!"

"Oh, and so you just _left_ me there!? You could have put me back onto the bed!" she yelled back.

Before he could answer, there was a knock on the cabin door, so he just frowned. Storming over to it, Nami opened it rather harshly and yelled, "What!?"

The man on the other side stiffened, his eyes going down to her perky nipples. "A-A-Ah ...! I-Is ... everything ... all right? W-We heard ... yelling and ... is there ... anything ... that I can do ...?"

"Everything's fine! Go away!" she said, slamming the door in his face.

_"Anything you say~~!"_

Ignoring the call from the other side, Nami then stormed over to her pack. "You turn around, and don't you dare peek at me, or I'm _cutting it off_!" she screamed at him over her shoulder.

He turned around when she told him to. "I only woke up just before you did," he said. "And you had me pinned in your sleep anyway. I could barely move."

"What the hell're you talking about!?" she said over her shoulder, making sure he was turned before changing back into the dress from the day before.

"You were all grabbing onto me in your sleep!"

"You're lying! Don't make this about me, you perverted jerk!" she yelled before just storming out of the room after she'd dressed, leaving him there.

He dressed and followed after her, having to run to catch up. "Oh come on," he cried, trying to keep his voice down. "I'm sorry. I didn't do anything on purpose alright," he said, trying to apologize.

"Just go away!" she said over her shoulder, ignoring the stares they were getting, though most were directed to her. Luffy muttered to himself and went to the railing to look over it.

Sighing when she looked over her shoulder to see that he'd stopped following her, she then just walked towards the back and leaned against the rail there. "Idiot," she whispered to herself with pursed lips, but then blinked, feeling as if she was being watched. "Eh?" she questioned softly, looking over her shoulder. However, she didn't see anyone there. Frowning a bit, she then looked back towards the river, feeling a shudder run down her spine. Frowning when the unpleasant feeling wouldn't leave, she straightened up with a sigh. Turning to go back, she gasped when a hand was placed over her mouth. "Mmm!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening.

"Well looky here ... Ain't you a perdy 'lil thing ... Sommin' 'bout you I can't quite put mah finger on ... But I like you ..." a nasty man said as he smirked down at her, "I think we can use you to our advantage ..."

Her eyes widened further as she struggled, but his hold around her waist tightened as he pulled her along, "Mmmmm!"

Luffy looked up when his senses went off, but he couldn't pinpoint the source of the disturbance. Deciding to get a look around, he left the rails to head towards the middle, but froze. Just in the middle, he could see several men with swords taking hostages, one of them holding Nami, a tough looking man. "Hey!" he yelled and started walking towards Nami, but his path was blocked by another tough looking guy.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Spotting Luffy, Nami's eyes widened, and she bit down on the man's finger, "Aah! You little bitch!" he yelled, yanking on her hair.

"Aah!" She screamed, other women also screaming as they were all rounded up on the deck of the ferry.

"You're a fiery little thing, ain't ya ...? I like that ..." he said, smirking widely with a deep chuckle as he leaned down to lick over her throat, "Think I might keep you."

"Guaah!" she cried out in disgusted, but then gasped when she felt a hand grope an entire breast.

"I like these too ..."

Seeing the man groping Nami, Luffy's brows quickly dropped into the bridge of his nose and his aura ignited. His eyes started glowing blue, and the thug in front of him started backing away. Luffy backhanded him out of the way, and started running at the hostage takers. The heavy blue glow around his body expanded, and as he shot his hand forward, a bright blue beam of energy shot out of it on contact with the man who was holding Nami.

Nami cried out in surprise from the sudden attack as she flew to the side and landed with a grunt. Blinking, she then quickly turned back to Luffy in wide eyed shock. She had never seen him do anything like that before. "Guwaah!" the man cried out, having not expected to be attacked so suddenly as he was sent flying back.

"What the hell's going on!?" One of his buddies exclaimed, looking over towards them.

Luffy exhaled, his breath coming out like steam. He turned his gaze to the other bandits. "Piss off," his voice echoed ominously. "Or you all die."

"Eeeh!?" They all exclaimed before running over each other to get to the railings and jump off the side, one of them picking up the mutilated body of their comrade and leaping over the side.

Nami could only gape at Luffy. He looked extremely angry. Even she was a bit afraid of him at that moment. She had no idea he was that strong. Taking a deep breath and releasing it again, steam still pouring out of it, he closed his eyes, taking several more breaths to calm down before finally opening his eyes and turning to Nami. "Are you alright?" he asked, the light starting to fade out of his eyes.

Gasping softly, her eyes widened a bit as she jerked back a bit, staring into his eyes, but then she gave a faint and quick nod. A man walked up to him, a bit nervous and shaky and said, "Th-Thank you ... so much ... We-We wanted ... to offer you a reward for saving us ..." He looked to be the captain of the ferry. He held out his cap, which held, possibly one hundred or more gold coins.

Luffy looked down at the money. "Oh ... thanks ... It was no problem ..." he muttered, taking the cap into his hand slowly.

Her mind quickly cleared as she surged to her feet with a bright smile. "Eh!? Really!? You're giving us a reward!?" she said, going and snatching the cap away from Luffy, which made the crowd around them gasp. Would he do anything to the poor woman? However, the captain suddenly blinked at her, and then he grinned.

"Aah! I-I might have more ... i-if such a beautiful woman like you is with him!" he said, digging around furiously in his pockets.

"Me too!"

"Oh, me too!" A few other men called as they came forward.

"They haven't gotten to me yet! You can have it, beautiful mistress!!" And they all started dropping more coins in the cap.

"Eeh!?" exclaimed Nami, gaping at them all in complete shock.

Luffy blinked at the men, but instead of getting mad, this time he started laughing. Well, they were giving them more money, after all. "Keep it up," he whispered to Nami, "We might double what the captain was going to pay us."

Blinking up at him, she then grinned and gave him the 'okay' sign before winking at them all. "Oooh~! Really? You'll give it to me~?" she cooed, causing them to cheer and throw more coins in, though they started pushing at one another. Soon, the outraged women began pulling on ears and arms and dragging the men off.

Not being able to help himself, Luffy laughed louder at the men being dragged away by the women. This was actually pretty funny. He leaned down to Nami and asked, "How much did we make?"

She leaned back, waving off the men and ignoring the glares and bickering couples. "I don't know yet~ We can check it later. Let's get back to the room before they change their mind," she said before turning to head back to the cabin.

Snickering to himself, Luffy followed her back the cabin with a grin on his face and said, "Well that worked out pretty well."

"It sure did~! But, now I need a bath. I still have his spit on my throat," she said, shuddering a bit, but she went to sit on the bed, pouring out all the gold coins, "Now' let's see. You count this half, and I'll count this half," she said, separating the coins and looking rather cheery.

Taking his half of the pile, Luffy counted through it, going through it twice to make sure. "I've got about one hundred and twenty five gold pieces in this pile."

"I've got one hundred and thirty one~!" she said, grinning brightly. Counting gold coins made her happy, "That's a total of two hundred and fifty-six gold pieces~! Not bad!" she said, giving a little cute and happy giggle. Free money would make anyone happy, or maybe it was just her ...

His smile brightened at her giggle. She was even cuter when she was happy. "So what does that put us at? A bit over one thousand?" he asked, feeling a warm fuzzy feeling in the pit of his stomach by looking at her.

"All right, let's see ... We had eight-sixty when we left ... but minus the fifteen for the ferry and horse fee, and now plus the two-fifty-six ..." she said out loud, counting in her head, "That makes it ... one thousand, one hundred and one~!" she said, beaming brightly as she scooped up all the gold coins into a pile, "Gimme your money bag so I can add this."

Pulling out the bag, Luffy handed it to her and said, "So we're halfway there, aren't we?"

"Yeah~! Just a little more than half!" She put them all into the bag and closed it up tight, "We're going to need a bigger bag!" she said, taking a deep and happy breath, her chest rising and falling with it, and her smile never fading. Only a thousand more to go, give or take a few with fees here and there and inn costs. Luffy released a relieved breath. A thousand and he didn't have to go back empty handed. His eyes wandered to her chest as she breathed, the movement was quite fascinating.

"Now I'm hungry~!" she said, closing her eyes and tilting her head into the smile. And her being hungry meant they were about to spend money.

"Me too," said Luffy as his stomach growled. He glanced sideways at Nami and smiled. He liked this happy Nami and wanted to keep her that way. "How much longer do you think we have 'til we arrive?"

Her lips pushed out a bit as she pressed a finger to it, "I don't know ... but they should have somewhere we can eat here," she said before smiling at him again, "Let's go see!" she said before jumping up and taking the money bag with her towards the door. When she smiled at him, Luffy's heart sped up, and he stood up to follow her, a half dazed expression on his face.

Humming to herself happily, she walked towards the main cabin, thinking a dining room might be there. Walking inside, she saw a hallway, and a man was walking towards them, so she called to him, "Ah, excuse me, but ... does this ferry have a dining hall?"

"Ah, yes, it's just a little ways down and to the right," he said, pointing down the hall behind him.

"Ah, thank you~!" she said, which made the man blink and looked a bit dazed, but he smiled.

"I-I could ... take you~!"

"Ah, no ..." said Nami, blinking at this. What the hell was going on? "W-We can find it ... Thanks ..."

"Anything you say, beautiful lady~!" he said, walking passed her, but never removing his eyes from her.

"What the hell is going on ...?" she asked with a soft frown, watching after the man.

"You know," started Luffy, also watching the man, "I've been wondering myself. You manage to break the spell on me, and keep attracting men. That's not normal-Well ... at least, I don't think it is ..."

She blinked, looking over at him. "Not normal? What do you mean _not_ normal?" she asked, starting to frown.

Luffy held out his hand, palm up, and a small glowing ball of light appeared hovering over it. "Is this normal?" he asked, looking up at her.

"W-Well ... no ... but you have magic abilities," she said, frowning a little more.

"And you're breaking magic curses," he closed his hand, and the light winked out of existence, "If it's all right with you, I'd like to find out why you put me to sleep, and if it's connected to why men keep acting the way they do around you."

Her lips lifted on one side as she looked at him, and then she asked, "How come you don't seem affected though?"

He shrugged. "I'm magic."

"Mmm ..." she hummed, her lips still pursed before she smiled, "I'd like to test that one day," she said before whirling around, "And I guess if you have to ..."

He blinked at her smile and to what she said. "T-Test …?" he asked in a daze to himself, but then he shook his head and said, "I-If I have to...?"

"Find out about me ... I wouldn't mind finding out myself." she said, walking down the hall a bit before finding the door to the dining hall, which was open and already quite a few people were inside dining, "Ah! Here we are~!" she said, walking inside, which the crowd suddenly burst into applause to the hero that had saved them and to his beautiful companion, "Eh ...?"

Following her into the dining area, Luffy blinked at the applause, but then smiled and waved back at the people. "We're really popular now," he said to Nami.

"So it seems ..." she said as a few of the waiters approached them, all smiling at Nami and bowing.

"Where would you like to sit, ma'am? Anywhere you desire is fine, even if someone is already occupying it~!"

"Aaah ..." she said, smiling nervously, "Th-That ... won't be necessary ... Any ... table is fine-that isn't occupied!" she added quickly with a nervous laugh.

"Please, right this way! I have the perfect table!"

"No way! I do! Let me show you!"

"Screw you! My table is better!"

"Um, oye-oye!" said Nami, holding out a hand as a bead of sweat dropped down on the side of her head.

"Shishishi," laughed Luffy loudly, "They're acting funny again."

"Ha ... haha ..." laughed Nami, backing up a bit towards him, "Ah ... yeah ... Um ..." she said, holding out her hand as they pulled at each other's clothes, "I-I will just ... choose a table ..."

"Anything you say!" They suddenly said at the same time and bowed to her.

"Right ..." she said, walking passed them cautiously before just choosing a table and sitting, but then all three followed her there. "Um ... w-we need ... just one ... H-How about you?" she said, just pointing to a random one.

"Ha!"

"Damn it ..."

"Shit ..."

Luffy kept laughing, and then said, "Well, whatever it is that's causing this, it's getting funnier."

Nami pursed her lips at him, "It's getting a bit troublesome though~ And this has never happened before! Why now!?"

"What can I get you?" he said, beaming down at Nami. Sighing to herself, she looked through the menu before ordering.

"Well," he shrugged. "You do have new dresses. Maybe it's that?" After Nami had ordered Luffy spoke up, "And I'll have ..."

The man waltzed off, and Nami burst into laughter.

He frowned at her laughter at first, and pouted. He looked over at her and glared. "S'not funny," he muttered. Then his frown softened as he listened to Nami's laughter. It wasn't malicious. In fact, it was just laughter, free and uninhibited. The more he listened to it, the more he enjoyed it. Finally, he joined in with her laughter.

"Oye, oye!" she said, gasping for air as she laughed and waved at him a bit, "I'll make sure he gets it when he comes back!" she said, going into another bout of laughter.

"He better," laughed Luffy, "Or I'm pulling him back here."

She burst into more laughter then, slamming her hand down onto the table then and cried, "I could just see that!"

"Shishi, you better believe it," he said, and his sides shook with laughter.

After awhile, she calmed down and wiped the tears from her eyes with a deep, happy, and content sigh, "Mm, I haven't laughed like that in … a while ......" she said, but then her face suddenly flashed sadness and a bit of pain before she smiled nervously with a bit of a laugh, "I-It was funny though ...!"

"Yeah," he frowned at the nervous smile. "But he better take my order, I want my food," he pouted, but still with a bit of a smile, as he glanced over at Nami.

"I-I'll ... make sure ... that he does ..." she said before looking away and staring off to the side.

After awhile, the waiter came back with her food, "Here you go~!"

"Um ... you forgot to take his order ..." said Nami, pointing to Luffy.

"Oh ..." he suddenly said, pulling out his pad boredly, "I didn't forget ..." he said, glaring at Luffy jealously, "He just didn't look ready ..."

"Ah haha ..." laughed Nami nervously as her brow twitched.

Luffy's own brow twitched, but for a different reason. "You know," he said. "I don't tolerate rudeness. So just take the order and leave." Nami brought a knuckle to her lips to hide a smile. She hoped the poor man would just do it.

"Fine ... what'a ya want ...?" The man said, causing Nami to laugh nervously, knowing this would only piss Luffy off more. Feeling a bit responsible, she quickly leaned forward, clamping a hand over Luffy's mouth before he could speak, "Ahahaha ...! J-Just bring a few nice and juicy steaks for him, pretty please?" she said, batting her lashes at him.

"Right away~~!" he said, waltzing off again. Releasing a deep breath, she then sat back and rubbed her temple. This was getting troublesome.

Luffy glared after the departing waiter and then looked back at Nami. "Not so funny anymore," he muttered.

Her brow twitched as she smiled at him nervously with her eyes closed, "I'm sorry ..."

"Not your fault," he sighed, smiling at her, surprised she was actually apologizing to him. It actually made him feel good.

She scratched the back of her head and said, "W-Well ... technically ..." However, she didn't really have to finish that sentence.

"Nah," he insisted. "You're not controlling it ... Whatever it is ..."

"No ... I guess not ..." she said, placing her hands in her lap and looking down at her food. Though, she wasn't touching it.

"Don't worry," he said leaning his head to look up at her face. "Whatever it is, we'll figure it out, and maybe you'll learn how to control it."

She shrugged a bit, but then she perked up and said, "Yeah, I guess that's true! That would be nice!"

"Aah, sorry to keep you waiting, beautiful Goddess~! Here are the steaks that you requested!" The waiter said, placing a large plate on the table, full of juicy steaks, "And when I told the cook who you were, he said the meal was on the house~!"

Nami blinked wide eyes up at him and stuttered her thanks, "Ah ... th-thank you ..."

Luffy perked up and said, "Sweet," and reached for a steak. But otherwise, he ignored the waiter as he started inhaling the steaks. He ate them in one bite, sometimes taking two bites.

"Is there anything else I can get you, my lady~?" The waiter said, paying Luffy the same respects.

"Perhaps ... some wine?" replied Nami, giving him a wink.

"Right away!" he said, rushing off quickly.

"I could get used to this though ..." she said, giving another cute, but devious, little giggle.

Hearing the giggle, Luffy looked up at her, half a steak hanging out his mouth, which he quickly swallowed to reply, "Well," he snickered, flushing to the cute giggle, which still gave him an ominous shiver, "As long as they don't forget me, I'm enjoying it too."

She turned to smile at him, just in too great a mood to hate him at the moment, and she snickered with him. "Yeah, it's pretty great~! It definitely has its advantages! But ..." she said, looking away, "Is it really right?" She tilted her head.

"Mah," he waved a hand, dismissing the concern. "I've seen plenty of women using their beauty to get what they want. Nobody's forcing the people to do anything, so it's not really a problem."

"But ... it's different ... isn't it? If it really ... is magic ...? Though ... I never ... I didn't think ... I had any ... and ... I guess ... maybe I still don't ..." she said a little slowly and quietly, but then smiled when the waiter returned with a nice bottle of wine.

"Best the house has to offer~! Would you like a sample?" he asked, pulling out a glass and twirling it expertly with his fingers.

"Please?" she said with a larger smile. Pouring a small amount in a glass, he then handed it to her. Taking a sip, she then closed her eyes with a soft moan, "Mmm ... it's delicious ..."

The man's eyes seemed to grow more dazed as did a few men around them to this. "I-It's ... all yours ... then ..." he said, setting it down and walking away.

"Eh?" Nami questioned, confused then as she blinked at him and then turned to Luffy in her confusion.

Blinking at her with another shiver, Luffy then shook his head and shrugged. "You know, now I'm pretty sure it's magic. Maybe it's some kind of subconscious hypnosis?" He pulled out his pocket notebook and thumbed through it. After he didn't find what he wanted he closed the book and pocketed it. "Nothing in there. We'll need to find a library." He picked up another steak. "It's convenient, saving us money, but if you're worried, we should figure this out before taking any new jobs, I think."

"I-I guess so ..." she said, frowning as she looked at everyone around them. They seemed to be blinking out of whatever they were in. However, they didn't seem to even notice. Magic? Her? Did she really have magic abilities that she didn't know about?

Luffy finished the last steak and leaned back with a contented sigh. "Ah," he said. "That was good."

"Ah!" she said, blinking down at the table. She hadn't eaten a thing. Grabbing her fork, she then began to eat.

"So slow~" sighed Luffy, but still grinned at her.

She stuck her tongue out at him and said, "I was distracted!"

"Shishi," he scratched his upper lip. "You weren't the only one."

"Eh?" she asked, quirking a confused and curious brow at him, "What do you mean?"

"Every man in this place was distracted," he snickered. "Well ... except for me."

She pursed her lips in a small pout, but then she shrugged. "Yeah ... I guess so ..." she said before continuing to eat.

He stared at her pout, it really was cute. He continued to watch her eat, even that was cute. He blinked. Huh, he'd never noticed this about other women before. Perhaps it had something to do with what might be her dormant magical powers?

Pouring herself a full glass of the wine, she then drank it slowly with her eyes closed, "Mmm ..." she hummed deeply, "this really is good ..." Then she opened her eyes and smiled down at the glass.

Luffy looked at the glass, and then focused on Nami's lips. "Can I have some?" he asked after awhile.

She pursed her lips at him, coveting her glass and said, "It's mine ..."

"Stingy," he stuck his tongue out at her.

She stuck her tongue back out at him with her eyes closed, but she was smiling. Then she quirked her brow at him, and her smile was a bit slyer as she took a drink, possibly making her much more attractive. He blushed as he watched her drink. It was incredibly arousing, though it didn't make sense. She was only drinking wine, but nonetheless he found himself more interested in her than the wine she refused to share with him.

She chuckled deeply within her throat, still watching him as well. However, she was thinking he still wanted the wine and was teasing him. She had no idea _she_ was the one affecting him. After awhile, she stood up, leaving the glass, but picking up the bottle and said, "Well, shall we then? No use sticking around here. Maybe we can take a tour~!" Turning to the exit, she then headed out without him.

"Uh ... sure. .." he said, getting up to follow to her and finding that he wanted nothing else but to do exactly that. His heart was beating faster, and he had to work hard to get it under control. This was really, really weird, and he thought, '_What is happening to me_?'

Still holding the bottle, she brought it to her lips and took a drink as they walked while looking around, and then she asked, "I wonder what else they have here besides a dining hall?"

He watched her take a drink from the bottle, his eyes following the graceful curve of her neck as she leaned her head back. She'd just said something, but he hadn't noticed, still in a daze. "Huh?"

Blinking a bit, she then turned to look at him with a frown, "Aren't you paying attention!?"

"Huh? Wha? Oh, yeah, I'm paying attention," he shook his head, trying to focus.

Her brow quirked then as she looked at him, but then she just shrugged and kept going. "I was saying I wonder if they have anything else here besides a dining hall!" she exclaimed over her shoulder. "Making me repeat myself ..." she grumbled, still frowning a bit.

"Oh," he said and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, let's take a look around and see what we can find."

"Well, of course we are!" she said, turning to frown at him deeper, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing, nothing," he said, and then an idea occurred to him, "Maybe it's just your magic starting to affect me." He gripped his hands together and adopted a similar expression as all the men from earlier.

Her lower lip stuck out further and her eyes narrowed more. "You're an idiot ..." she muttered before walking on.

"I'm just joking," he laughed, as he followed after her.

"Uh huh ..." she said, not bothering to turn to him again as she kept going. "Maybe I can ask someone ..."

"How about him?" Luffy pointed at a man wearing what looked like a similar uniform to the captain.

"Mm, yeah all right ..." she said, heading towards him. "E-Excuse me?" she called, giving a smile.

"Ah~!" The man suddenly said, not having to be looking at her, and then finally turned to her, "What can I do for you~!?"

"Um ... I was just wondering ... if there was anything to do on this ferry ... you know ... as entertainment?" she asked, smiling wider.

"Aah, we have a few things~ Nothing big~ There's a ballroom~! That is, if you care to dance~!"

"I do not ..." she suddenly said, taking a sip with a bored expression, "Oh well ... I guess back to the room it is then ..."

"Or we could mess with people some more," suggested Luffy, nonetheless heading back to the room. "Your power, or whatever it is, is more entertainment than anything this ship could provide."

She snorted loudly in amusement, "It is pretty entertaining, but that's kinda mean though, ain't it? I mean those waiters almost got into it ... Though," she started with a giggle, "it _was_ flattering~! I wonder if I could catch me a nice and rich husband with it~!" she said. However, she wasn't exactly serious.

He frowned and shrugged, as if he didn't care either way. "Who knows? You'd have to be careful though, if you don't know how it works, and it wears off, you might find yourself in a bad situation." Why did the thought of her finding a husband annoy him so much? "And there are pretty strict laws against using magic for things like that."

She turned and pursed her lips at him, wondering why he was being snippy with her. "I was only joking ..." she said, and then turned with a snort, "You're no fun ..." she muttered before entering the room and plopping down on the chair near the window.

"I'm plenty of fun," he countered. "You just get mad at me when I try." He plopped down on the bed, and lay back so that he was leaning against the wall, while lying on the bed lengthwise.

She stuck her tongue at him and exclaimed, "That's 'cuz you're an idiot!"

He stuck his tongue right back out at her. "And you're stingy."

"Oh shut up!" she said with a huff as she turned away, "Now you've gone and ruined my good mood! Nothing less of an idiot like you!"

"Relax," he waved his hand, yawning. "Just think of this, you're halfway home, and you might even have a magic ability."

"Yes, I'm almost home, no thanks to you!" she said before her frown saddened a bit, "I'm almost free again ..." she whispered very quietly, swallowing the lump in her throat. That's right. She had no time to be in any good moods. For just a little bit, she had almost forgotten her situation.

"No thanks to me?" he muttered. "I earned most of the money." He crossed his arms and rolled to his side, sliding so that he was laying flat on the bed.

"Then why the hell won't you just let me go home now!?" she exclaimed, turning a deep frown on him, "My sister is probably really worried about me ..." she said quietly, looking back outside again.

"Don't you want money to help rebuild your town?" He twisted his head one hundred and eighty degrees without moving his body. "I've got the money I need, so if you don't want any to take back, feel free to leave. Just keep in mind that if you stick with me you'll be able to get the money much more easily." He let his neck snap back into place. "And I'll have a chance to research your ability if you stay," he muttered quietly so she wouldn't hear.

He was right ... She hadn't really thought about that. He had the money he needed. She could just go home if she wanted to. The money they'd earned here on the ferry had been enough. However, if she wanted to rebuild her town, she would be able to get that money if she stayed with him, "I could ... go home ..." she said quietly and softly, but loud enough for him to hear.

"If you want," he sighed. "But I'd rather you stayed." he said the last part softly.

She suddenly stood up. "Oh, I'm sure you would ..." she said, her voice sounding angry, "Seeing as I can get people to give us more ... men anyways ... I'm sure you liked that ... Or is it that you can finally sleep ...? You wouldn't have my _breasts_ anymore to _break_ your_ curse_!" she said, grabbing both globes and pressing them together before storming for the door, "Maybe I should just go home ... I forgot how much I couldn't stand being around you for just a moment ... but I won't repeat that mistake ..." she said, opening the door and walking out, slamming the door behind her.

He stayed lying there, not sure if he could explain why he wanted her to stay. He looked out the window. They hadn't arrived yet, so he'd be able to talk to her later. For now, he decided to give her some time to herself.

Still fuming with anger, she just walked in no particular direction, and when any man came to close she would yell, "Piss off," which, they obeyed quickly.

xxxx

Luffy sat up and gathered their packs together as he felt the ship starting to dock. After he had everything, he went out to look for Nami on deck. He looked around for her, but he couldn't see her anywhere. So, he walked towards the front of the ship to get a better look. Once he reached the front he looked around, but no Nami. "Huh," he muttered. "Where did she go?"

Nami was at the back of the ship, the one empty bottle at her side, and her only companion as she rested her chin on her arms, which were folded between the rails where she sat. She had been there for a few hours, her anger having fled some time back. However, she wasn't ready to go back to where he was any time soon. However, when she saw that they were slowing down, she blinked and lifted her head to look to the front. Sighing, she stood up, dusting off her dress and picking up the empty bottle, and then she headed for the front of the ship.

"Oh ...... you're here ..." said Nami suddenly, when she was behind him after spotting him. Then she sighed, turning to go elsewhere.

"Nami, wait," Luffy reached out for her arm. "I'm sorry you hate me, but I enjoy having you around ... and at the very least I'd like to figure out what is making people react to you the way they do."

Blinking and looking down at the hand grasping her arm, she then looked up at him with a quick frown to his words. "Enjoy having me around? I bet you do ..." she seethed, yanking her arm away from his grasp, "I _did_ let you touch my breast." she said sarcastically, though a few people looked her way in shock, a few men glaring at Luffy angrily. Though, it was probably the bottle of wine talking now, "And ... you're sorry I hate you? It's your own damned fault that I hate you ... You _should_ be sorry ... you ... you ... fucking idiot!" she yelled with a huff before turning away from him a bit, "I gotta be around you when we land ... so, I'm going elsewhere until then ... I can't go back empty handed either ... I have to at least make it worth it for having to spend so much time in your ... _company _..." she said as she kept walking away from him.

Luffy looked at the empty bottle of wine and asked, "Are you drunk?"

"Of course not!" she yelled over her shoulder, seeing as she was still walking away, "It's just making me speak the truth more openly!"

He turned away from her, clenching his jaw tightly. Perhaps he deserved that, but it still hurt. It hurt to the point where he had to suppress a violent reaction. It scared him how easily the thought to use his magic to make her do what he wanted came to him. He breathed heavily, confused between the dark, and the pain he felt welling up deep inside him. His arms started to shake, as he tried to find some way of channeling the negative emotions he was feeling, but they weren't like excess energy that he could just expend in a spell. These didn't want to leave him. The crew lowered the plank to the dock as the ship came to a halt and Luffy went to the exit, waiting for Nami to come.

Snorting a bit after she'd walked away, she then headed for the dining hall. She really needed another bottle of wine. She felt really horrible for some stupid and unknown reason, and it only pissed her off more. After procuring another bottle of wine, Nami then headed for the exit, seeing as the ferry had completely stopped. However, she wasn't looking forward to it in the least. She vaguely wondered if Luffy'd grabbed her things, and so she went back to the cabin to check. Not seeing it there, she shrugged, taking a deep swig of the wine before heading to the exit.

Luffy looked up when he felt Nami's presence. He didn't say anything, but started walking down the gangway. Her eyes narrowed when she saw him there, and seeing as he didn't have anything to say, she wasn't about to break the silence, and thus followed him off the ferry. Once they were on the ground, Luffy took a deep, shaky breath, and said, "We should find someplace to sleep. And then we'll go to the library."

"Fine ..." she said, one hand on her hip as she took another drink. She hoped they hurried with the horse.

**To Be Continued …**

**Authors' Note:**

Darth: Dammit all! We're never getting to the smex are we?

Con: *Picks nose* Who says I'll be giving you smex? ¬.¬

Darth: Hey, I read your stuff.

Con: *Snickers* X3 Who says I wanna put out for you though?

Darth: Hrmph...should show them the superhero RP.

Con: Aww, hell ... that's right ... I have put out for you before ... Must not have been memorable enough ... Hmm ... Well, who says I would put out for you again? XD

Darth: Damn. You tease!

Con: *Snorts into laughter* Anyways, we hope you guys enjoyed the chapter~! See you next time~! ;)


	7. Chapter 7: He Gets Ridiculed

**Authors' Note:**

Darth: Boobies, always with the boobies! Why must Nami be such a tease!?

Con: Because you make it easy. You are easy.

Darth: Hardly. I'm hard! I'm as hard as you can get...ooookaaay...that didn't come out right.

Con: No ... No, it didn't. You're a manwhore.

Darth: Giggitty.

Con: Manwhore.

Darth: Woman...whore...?

Con: Are you calling me a whore?

Darth: ...no?

Con: I will punch you in the face.

Darth: You are powerless against my masochist powers!!

Con: *Punches Dart and moves on* On with the chapter~! Hope you guys enjoy! :3

**Charmed**

**Chapter 7: He Gets Ridiculed**

Once his horse was led off the ship, Luffy climbed onto it, and this time, he didn't hold his hand out to help Nami up. Nami frowned deeply at this. He'd never been this upset before. Snorting anyways, she grabbed a hold of the saddle after situating the bottle's nozzle between her fingers and pulled herself up, though with some trouble this time. "Ass," she muttered under her breath after finally getting on.

"Just don't fall off," he muttered in reply as they took off towards the library. Leaning forward a bit with a deeper frown so as _not_ to fall off, she then huffed and looked to the side, not really caring if her chest was touching his back. Teach the little bastard a lesson ... Luffy found himself fighting to stay awake. As his eyes slid shut, he thought, '_It's getting stronger ..._'

"Are we there yet?" she asked, her voice etched with boredom and irritation as she took another swig of the wine.

A snore was her only answer.

Her lips pursed immediately as she leaned back and smacked him across the head, "Oye! Wake up, stupid!"

"Huh? Wha ..?" he was startled, "Is it morning?"

"No! You're just an idiot!"

"Shut up," he yawned. "Is your fault," he muttered and shook his head to clear it.

"No, I like that you're an idiot more! And don't tell me to shut up, you asshole!" she exclaimed, leaning back and taking another drink.

"Give me that," he growled and reached back to pull the wine bottle from her. "You've had enough to drink."

"What the hell!? You give that back!" she yelled, reaching around him to grab it, all the while pressing herself against him again, "I'm not drunk, you idiot!"

"But you are being ..." he trailed off, starting to snore again.

"Being what!? My usual bitchy self!? Good! Damn it, are you listening to me!? Wake up!" she said, smacking him again.

"Oww," he sat up straight, "Stop pressing against me!" People were starting to stare at the bickering couple on the horse.

"Well give me my wine back, asshole!" she said, pressing a palm into this back to keep her chest off him, but still reaching around for the wine.

"No," he insisted, glad she was keeping her breasts off him, even if they were deliciously soft. "You and wine are a bad combination."

"You have no idea what you're talking about," she said in a low voice. "The wine has nothing to do with this," she said, but leaned back and stopped trying to get it.

"I'll give it back to you if you behave." He stuck the wine in a pocket inside his robe. "Or would you rather I start behaving like an actual kidnapper?"

She began to move around and said quickly, "I want off this horse ..."

"Not until we get there," he ordered. "I don't want us slowing down."

"I said I want off!" she said, and instead of waiting for it to stop, she tried to get off herself, but ended up falling off, "Aah!" she exclaimed as she fell and hit the ground, but she didn't let it faze her as she stood up and began walking away from him.

He sighed and stretched his arm after her. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back. "We're almost there," he said. "So bear with me, all right?"

"Let go of me!" she screeched, struggling against his arms, "I can't stand you!"

"And you're giving me a headache," he said and cast a spell of silence on her.

Her eyes widened, for when she tried to speak, no sound came out. She even screamed and dug her nails into his arms, but there was no sound. She was furious as she struggled against him. "Ow," he muttered as she scratched him while struggling. "Stop that!" he said, holding her tight. However, after awhile, she ended up just falling asleep, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Not too much longer and they were by the library. He climbed off the horse, shaking Nami to wake her.

When she was woken up, she blinked her eyes awake, but then frowned, looking over at him. "What do you want ...?"

"We're there," he said, jabbing his thumb at the library behind them.

Huffing a bit, she slid off the horse, and then pushed passed him none too gently as she approached the library. Letting it slide, he just followed a long behind her. The library was a tall imposing building. Inside were high vaulted ceilings, stacked to the top with book shelves. A relatively young librarian was sitting behind the main desk. When they walked up to the desk, she looked up at them and smiled. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Yeah," Luffy pulled out his mage license. "We need to see the restricted area, the latent magical talent section."

Nami stayed behind a bit and just looked around at all the books. She wouldn't mind having a look around to see what kinds of books they had.

"Of course," the librarian smiled, "This way please." She stepped out from behind the counter, and led the way, somehow managing to be sexy despite her plain, functional clothes. Nami blinked after the practical yet beautiful woman and followed after them. Could _she_ be that practical and still be that beautiful?

The Librarian pulled out a key from the ring of keys hanging by her side. After selecting a specific one, she opened a door in a corner of the library. "This is the restricted area, reserved for mages and wizards. I hope you can find what you're looking for." She bowed, showing a small amount of cleavage, even through her buttoned up blouse. Nami turned to look at the woman, but then her eyes turned to slits as she looked over at Luffy, knowing he would be looking down the woman's blouse.

Luffy was instead already heading into the smaller room, pulling out books at what appeared to be random. "Thanks," he called back to the librarian.

Nami blinked a bit with a purse, somehow irritated that he chose not to do it this time. Maybe she did get him upset. Shrugging it off with a huff, she then walked in. "Thanks..." she muttered, walking in and going in another direction.

Several hours later, and Luffy still hadn't found anything. "Dammit," he muttered, slamming a particularly large tome shut.

"Wow," breathed out Nami, her eyes glued to the tome of spells she was reading, "This stuff is," she started, but paused, flipping the page to read the next thing.

"Eh?" He looked up at her. "Did you find anything?"

"Ah," she said, pressing the book to her chest, "N-Not ... really ... I was just ... reading ..." she said with a shrug and turned away from him, still not ready yet to really be socializing with him.

He sighed and leaned back, rubbing the bridge of his nose. So far he hadn't found anything that described what had been going on with Nami. It wasn't quite mind control, as the men still seemed to be in control of themselves, just heavily inclined towards doing what she wanted. It was nothing like what that slaver had done. When he took control of Nami she'd completely lost control over her body as well as her personality and awareness. As far as he could tell, the men were aware of exactly what they were doing the whole while through. He'd even tried looking into enchantments and curses that could have been placed on her that would have that same effect … but nothing.

And he'd had even less luck trying to find something that would explain how she could break the spell on him. There were plenty of curse breaking abilities out there, and several curses and enchantments that could counter other spells and curses, but nothing that explained why it only worked when he was touching her breasts, though he had to admit, that Nami's ability had to be the most awesome ability out there.

The only thing he'd discovered was something about the heart, an old legend that mentioned a woman with a similar ability, but in the end it had turned out to just be a love story between the woman and the one man that she couldn't control. It had ended with both of them dying, but then all the romances ended like that.

He picked up another book and thumbed through it, but still no luck.

Nami bit her lip as she continued to read through the books she'd found. Could a person really control weather, or even lightning, and there were some that could even control ice and fire. Luffy had mentioned once about his brother being better at using fire. If she really did have some magic ability, could she control some of these? It explained that some were better at others, like as if they could only control a certain element of sorts. What could she do?

Glancing out of the window, Luffy could see that the sun was already starting to go down. He remembered that they hadn't even found a place to stay. His stomach growled and he stood up, stretching. Blinking her eyes, Nami read over some incantations. "Incredible," she whispered to herself, but then pouted, "Aww ..." 'Only works outdoors,' it read. "That's lame," she said, but then read the incantation out loud, but in a whisper, anyways. There was a soft rumble of thunder outside, and she blinked. "Eh?" she questioned, lifting her head, "Was it going to rain today ...?" However, she saw Luffy getting up and shrugged, slamming the book shut. She was pretty hungry and figured he was too.

Luffy shrugged. "I don't think it was supposed to. Anyways, we need to find a place to stay and something to eat."

"Right," she muttered, setting the book down. However, she kept her hand on it, and a strange sensation shot through it. Gasping, she yanked her arm back, staring down at the book before slowly turning towards Luffy, but kept her eyes on the book. After she was fully turned, she blinked, staring off ahead before just shrugging it off and following after Luffy.

He looked behind himself. "Eh? What happened?"

"N-Nothing," she said, walking towards the exit without looking at him and just walking out.

When they left, the librarian was putting away some books near the entrance, and when they approached, she looked up. "Did you find what you wanted?" she asked with a gentle smile.

Luffy shook his head. "No, no luck."

Nami was looking off to the side, appearing bored as she looked at all the books. She was more interested in those magic books now, and actually couldn't wait to read some more. "Well," said the librarian, "Perhaps I could help you find what you need next time?"

"Really?" Luffy grinned brightly. "That would be great. We should be back here tomorrow."

Nami yawned and stretched. "I want to stay some place nice this time," she suddenly said, referring to the fact that they would be coming back the next day, and implying they would need to stay somewhere.

The librarian looked at the orange haired young woman curiously and asked, "Oh, you don't have anywhere to stay yet?"

"Mm, nope ... We came here first so that the idiot could find out why my breasts put him to sleep," she said, cupping her breasts, not caring if she embarrassed said idiot.

The librarian tilted her head, looking at Nami's chest. "I don't see why they should. They look perfectly fine to me." Luffy looked away quickly, his face red.

"Yeah, I think so too ... I think he's just an idiot," she said, thumbing towards Luffy, though she was laughing in her mind.

"Not my fault," muttered Luffy. "It's a curse."

The librarian laughed lightly. "I see."

"Oh!" said Nami suddenly, her lips in the shape of an 'o' and her expression appearing innocent as she looked at Robin. "Not my breasts~!" she assured, pointing down at them, "They're not the curse," then she gave a wink, "They're the cure, you see."

Luffy's face went bright red, and he turned away from the two women completely, even walking away a bit.

"Oh? Really?" The librarian raised an eyebrow, delicately. She noticed what the woman was doing, and decided to join in. "I wonder if it works for others as well?"

"No, no, you see!" continued Nami, enjoying herself quite a bit, "It only works on him! He's the one with the curse! All he has to do as touch them and _poof_!" she exclaimed, making the motions, "He's snoring and drooling all over them!"

"Oh? The snoring is unusual, but I've found that the drooling happens anyway, curse or no curse." The librarian chuckled.

Nami chuckled with her. "It's quite amusing~! Would you like to see?" she asked, smiling brightly.

"It would be a sight to see," she said and glanced over at Luffy.

"Maybe when we come back, right Luffy?" said Nami, beaming at him, completely innocent, "Oh, and my name is Nami!" he said, sticking out her hand to shake.

"Robin," said Robin, shaking Nami's hand. "And if you don't have any place to stay, you're welcome to my place."

"Ooh, really?" asked Nami, blinking at her quite genuinely this time, but then she smiled, "That would be wonderful! We're trying to save money, you see! Well, at least I'm trying to now. The idiot has already slaved his share out of me, and thus I have bought my freedom, but now I must save for money to rebuild my village, which he destroyed," she said, thumbing at Luffy again.

"Oi!" exclaimed Luffy, slapping the air. "I'm the one that did all the work!"

Robin gave him a skeptical look. "I see..."

Nami turned to him with bored eyes and a small smile. "Which would have been a lot harder for you to do without me ..." But then she touched a hand to her cheek, "Oh, but what am I saying ...? That's only for people who _don't_ kidnap innocent girls and tell them to work to pay off a debt said kidnapper _thinks_ the innocent girl owes, even though he's the careless idiot, who destroyed her entire village in the process ..." She sighed quickly with a shrug, "Anyways, I'm hungry ... Let's find some food," she said, walking passed Robin to go outside.

Robin frowned, "Kidnap?"

"Aheheheh," chuckled Luffy nervously. "It's a long story." He followed after Nami to go find food. Robin watched them as she followed, closing the library doors behind her. They certainly were interesting, and the boy definitely didn't act like a kidnapper, nor did she act like a kidnappee.

"I feel like noodles," said Nami, looking back and forth, frowning a bit as she vaguely realized the skies were clear with only a few clouds, '_What was that thunder earlier_ ...?'

"There is a nice little place, just down the road," Robin gestured. "And it's not too far from where I live."

Nami turned a bright smile to her and said, "Sounds great! Lead the way."

"Ee," Robin led them down the street to where the restaurant was. Once there the waiter showed them to a table, smiling at Robin who was somewhat of a regular customer.

"Ooh, this place looks really nice~!" said Nami, placing her hands on her hips as she looked around.

The waiter caught sight of Nami, and hearts formed in his eyes. "We're glad to please," he exclaimed and bowed lowly, holding out a chair for Nami. "Please, order whatever you want, dearest princess." Robin was surprised at the waiter's reaction. He'd flirted with her in the past before, but never anything as severe as this.

Nami laughed a little nervously while rubbing her head, but took a seat and said, "Thank you~!"

"Anything for you," he wiggled, much like Sanji. "What can I bring you?"

"I'm in the mood for some noodles~! Bring me the best you have as long as it has noodles. Oh! And some wine please," she said, beaming at the man, "Maybe some breadsticks too ..."

"I'll have the same," Robin told the waiter, who smiled at her, but not as enthusiastically as at Nami.

"Isn't there anything but noodles on this menu?" Luffy frowned. "Whatever, I'll have-hey, where are you going?"

"Ah!" Nami said, grabbing his coat tails, though she did giggle. She'd been tempted to just let him go, but hey, the man had to eat, right, "Something for him too ..."

"Thanks," Luffy muttered to Nami. "Just whatever they're having," he told the waiter, still annoyed.

"Of course," the waiter said, turning, while frowning at Luffy. Why did he get to be with the beautiful woman?

After the waiter had left Robin turned to Nami. "I take it this is part of what you're trying to research?"

Nami smiled at Robin, her cheek rested in her palm. "Yup," she said with a giggle, "My whole life and nothing like that has ever happened before ... Next thing you know, this idiot comes along ... and it starts happening ... That and my breasts put him to sleep when he's not supposed to be able to sleep ..."

"So there must be some kind of connection between his appearance and your new abilities?"

"Mmm, that's what I figured anyways ..." said Nami with a shrug.

"Hmm..." Robin thought for a moment. "Well, exposure to strong magic has been known to awaken latent magical abilities."

'_Strong magic_?' "Oh? So, is that what it is? Magic? Do I really have magical abilities? But what kind is it? That's another thing we're trying to figure out," said Nami, sighing deeply to herself.

Robin shrugged. "I have no idea what it could be. Sounds quite silly, breasts that break a curse, and men doing everything you want? Must be convenient though."

"It is silly! But most definitely convenient~!" said Nami, beaming at her.

Robin smiled and then glanced at Luffy. "And you? What kind of curse is this?"

"Just something that was cast on me by Moria, before I beat him," he muttered.

Robin gasped. "Moria? You defeated the Shadow Lord Moria?"

Nami blinked, looking between them and asked, "Moria? Who's he?"

"Moria was a very powerful sorcerer," Robin said. "He built a massive zombie army, and was going to take over the known world. He was ruthless, and completely evil."

Nami blinked before looking over at Luffy and asked, "He's the one that cursed you?"

"Yeah," said Luffy and nodded.

"They said that he stole people's shadows," added Robin.

"Hmm," hummed Nami, and that was all she said as she moved her head to the side, which was still rested in her palm.

"He'd use the shadows and put them in corpses," Luffy picked up the story. "Anyone who had their shadow stolen, couldn't go out into the sun light, otherwise they would burst into flame."

"Sounds painful ..." said Nami, yawning a bit.

"It was," said Luffy.

She snorted and said, "You got your shadow stolen? Sounds like something an idiot would get done to him ..."

"Yeah?" Luffy frowned at her, why had he thought she was cute? "I'd like to see you do better against a zombie army."

Her brow quirked then as she turned a smirk on him and said, "Would you now?"

"Yup," he said and his brow twitched. "And then when you lose you'll be all like, 'Help me Luffy!' but I'll say 'No!'"

She burst into laughter then, slamming her hand into the table and said, "Oooh, that's great! You're so full of shit!"

Luffy's eyebrow twitched. He was about to say something when Robin cleared her throat. He glanced at her and just looked away from the table, a frown on his face. The waiter approached their table, with the three orders of noodles, and some wine. Luffy stared down at his food and started picking at it dispiritedly. "Can I get anything else for you, my goddess," the waiter asked Nami.

"Nope, this will do, thanks so much~!" She said, beaming brightly at the young waiter.

"Aaah, I live to serve you~!" The waiter moved off.

"Right, thanks," muttered Nami, beginning to eat her food.

"So," said Robin after a while, "how did you two meet exactly?"

"I told you. I hired the idiot to get rid of someone … who had enslaved us ..." she said, pointedly as she looked at Luffy with a glare, " And he stopped him all right ... but destroyed our village while he was at it. I refused to pay-He kidnapped me," she said all in one sentence as she thumbed at Luffy.

Robin frowned at Luffy, who was not looking at either of them. "You're really serious? I thought you were joking. He doesn't seem like the kidnapping type, nor do you seem like the kidnapped type either."

Nami snorted and rolled her eyes. "I haven't exactly been making it easy, isn't that right, kidnapper?" she asked, rolling her eyes to Luffy, "He made a deal with me to help him get the money he'd lost when I refused to pay him so he didn't go back empty handed, and in the process, I will also make money to rebuild my village. I don't really have much choice, but to agree, right? After we gather it all, I'm free to go ... Though, I guess I could go now, but it wouldn't be worth all I had to go through with the jerk ..."

Luffy had calmed down a little bit. "Sorry, couldn't help it, guild policy." He leaned back against his chair, having finished his meal.

"Well, your guild is horrible ... I'll remember to never hire anyone from it again," she said, standing up and taking the bottle, "You can handle the rest ... I'm going to wait outside ..."

"Can I get anything else for you?" The waiter approached Nami as she was on her way out.

"Sure ... make the meal free," she muttered before pushing her way out, not looking at him at all.

"Of course, my dearest," said the waiter.

As soon as she was outside, she tilted her face to the cool air with her eyes closed. She didn't feel very good. She knew it wasn't the wine, but her stomach was churning.

Once Nami had left, Robin turned to look at Luffy. "What was the name of your guild?"

"Devil's Fist," said Luffy.

Robin's eyes widened, and turned to look where Nami had left. "She got off easy then, didn't she?" She turned to look at Luffy again.

"Yeah ..." he replied quietly and then he stood up to follow after Nami with Robin right behind him.

As Luffy pulled out his money, the waiter waved them off. "The beautiful lady said the meal was on the house."

Luffy watched him as they left. He still seemed to have his free will, and the spell was still active despite the fact that Nami was no longer present. Nami was standing some distance away, the wind blowing at her loose strands of hair and her expression was soft and relaxed as she stared up towards the sky. The sleeves and skirt of her dress also softly drifted in flow of the wind, and her arms hung loosely at her sides, though she was still clutching the nozzle of the wine bottle.

Pausing just outside the door way, Luffy's expression softened as he watched Nami. Robin also stopped, and glanced at Luffy. She took note of his expression as he watched Nami. "Ah," she said, "I see ..."

"What do you see?" asked Luffy, looking up at Robin.

"Nothing," said Robin, moving off towards Nami.

At hearing their voices, but not their words, Nami's brows dipped as she opened her eyes a bit, her tranquility broken. Sighing, she then slowly turned to them, keeping her frown. "Shall we?" asked Robin.

"Yes ... we shall," replied Nami, turning away again and waiting for Robin to lead the way.

Robin led them along the street, away from the library, into a cozy neighborhood with decent sized apartments and then up the steps to the upper floor of one of the buildings. Unlocking the door by waving her hand over the keyholeless lock, she opened the door and ushered them through. "It's not much," she said, "but make yourselves at home."

"Thank you for letting us stay here," said Nami, genuinely as she looked around the neat and tidy place with a small smile, and then she spied all of the books, "That's a lot of books. May I?"

"Of course," Robin nodded. "I have a habit of reading anything I can find."

Going to the bookcase, Nami skimmed the spines before running her fingers over them, but she felt that same sensation, sort of like a spark. Gasping, she pulled her hand away and stepped back away from the books. However, she hadn't felt the sensation until her fingers had touched a specific book, her eyes staring right at it.

"Did you find something?" asked Robin to Nami, standing next to her and looking at the books.

"Ah ... well ... I ..." started Nami, still staring at the book, but then she turned and laughed nervously while rubbing the back of her head, "N-No ... it's nothing ..."

"Oh?" Robin pulled out the book she'd seen Nami looking at. "Are you sure?"

She chuckled nervously again and said, "I-I just ... got a static shock is all!"

"From a book?" Robin giggled. "Did you know that magic books react to the people most suited to using them?"

"Ah, what?" asked Nami with a blinked, staring at the woman with owlish eyes.

"You felt it, didn't you?" asked Robin, "The magic in the book calling to you?" She handed it to Nami. "Give it a look."

Nami's lips parted a bit, blinking twice rapidly before looking down at the book. Reaching out slowly, she took the book in her hands, but the spark was stronger this time. Gasping louder, she dropped the book, just staring down at it widely. Robin smiled, and picked the book up. "I haven't seen a reaction this strong in a while." She set the book on the table. "Perhaps you would prefer to read it at the table?"

"I," started Nami, bringing a knuckle to her lips while still staring at the book, "I ... got one ... like that ... back at the library ... It ... wasn't as strong, but ... it ... it had all sorts ..." Then she pointed at the book on the table, still staring at it, "What ... does it have?"

"This one," Robin opened it to the first page, "contains basic weather manipulation spells."

Nami tilted her head slightly. "Weather ...?" she repeated quietly before taking a few steps forward and looking down at the page.

"Yes," said Robin. "This book contains the basic starting spells for the discipline. However," she pulled another book out of the shelf, "it does not have the basic principles of casting spells."

Luffy sat in a chair in the corner, reading a book he'd found on advanced body manipulation spells. Currently he was reading about hardening body parts to steel like strength, and changing the shape of the body, as opposed to the stretching he did.

"Ooh," breathed Nami, slowly sitting at the table as she looked over the pages. "S-So then ... I-I do ... have magic power?" she asked, just as quietly, finally tearing her eyes away to look up at Robin.

Robin smiled at the younger woman. "It would appear so. Has anything happened recently that might suggest what your abilities are?"

"I-No," replied Nami with a soft frown. "That's what we're trying to figure out ..."

"I see ..." Robin handed her the basic principles book. "This book will teach you the basics. Perhaps once you start learning those you will be able to further understand your abilities," Robin hesitated, "If you want, I could help you practice ..."

Nami's expression brightened into a smile. "Really?"

"If you want me to," Robin smiled. "I would be glad to help."

Nami closed her eyes and tilted her head into the smile. "Thanks~! That would be really great!" she said, taking the book, but gasped. "Mm," she said, blinking down at the book, but then smiled nervously, "Guess I should get used to that, huh?"

Robin chuckled. "Once you start learning from it, the reaction should be less severe, and you'll eventually get to the point where you can't feel it at all."

"Oh, well, that's good," said Nami with a smaller smile as she opened the book and set it down, beginning to read it.

Robin left her to it, while she went to the slot next to her door and sorted through her mail. In the corner Luffy held up his hand and recited an incantation he had just learned from the book he was reading. His hand elongated and formed into a blade. "Cool," said Luffy, admiring his sword-hand.

Nami bit her lip as she read the basics. It all seemed easy, but if the magic was unstable, then so would the spells cast. One had to control their own power in order to properly cast a spell. Well, how did one learn to control it? She frowned deeply with a sigh.

As they did their own thing, Robin went into the kitchen to make some tea. Once it was ready, she came back into the living room and offered a cup to Nami. "Oh, thank you," said Nami, smiling up at her gratefully before taking a sip, "Mm, this is delicious."

"You're welcome," she said. "I'm glad you like it." She then handed one to Luffy, who had turned his whole arm into a sword.

"Ah, thanks," said Luffy trying to grab it with his metal hand.

"Perhaps you should turn your arm back to normal?"

"Ah, right," said Luffy absently, changing his arm back to normal. "Thanks," he said, taking the cup, still reading the book.

"Robin," called Nami, sipping her tea while still reading her book.

"Ah?" Robin held the tray to her chest and walked over to Nami. "Yes?" She stood next to her, looking at the page she was reading.

"Mm, how does one control their abilities? It says the magic has to be stable. How do I know if it is or not?" she asked, looking up at her with a soft frown.

"Well," said Robin. "If the spell explodes in your face, then you know for a fact that it wasn't stable."

Nami's brow twitched and her smile was crooked. "Ah ... right ..." she said before looking back down at the book. "Can I see the book with the incantations?"

"Of course," Robin handed her the book. "One thing to keep in mind is that you are facilitating the flow of the energy. Don't fight against it, but direct its flow."

"All right," said Nami, taking the book from Robin and opening it. "Oh, this is the same incantation from the other book that I was reading," she said, whispering it out loud again, but then jumped at the slightly louder crack of thunder over head. Looking up, her eyes widened before looking up at Robin, "Oops ..."

Robin smiled and opened the window. "Thunder from clear skies, not bad."

"So that was you earlier?" A voice that sounded like Nami's said. Luffy had the book open in his lap, his head transformed to look like Nami's.

Blinking wide eyed, Nami looked over at him before frowning deeply. "What the hell're you doing!?"

Luffy repeated the incantation, and shifted his head to look like a horse's. "Just trying out a new spell I learned from this book," he held up the book he'd taken from the shelf. "I haven't figured out how to transform my whole body yet."

"Stop it! It's creepy! And don't use me! Last thing I need is for you to do perverted things to yourself while looking like me!" she said, whirling about the other way to continue reading the incantations.

Bringing up a knuckle, Robin just laughed, finding the two most interesting. Luffy returned his head to normal, and tried again, this time transforming into a houseplant. Nami turned to look at him over her shoulder before bursting into laughter. "You should stay that way! At least that way, you can't open your mouth, and you look nicer! More useful too! You spruce up the place!"

Still a plant, Luffy stuck a leaf out at her like it was his tongue. Robin also turned to look at him and laughed. Most interesting indeed. The leaf sticking out only stirred Nami's laughter, making her do it harder as she slammed her hand down on the table. "You're such an idiot!"

The pot the plant was in disappeared and the roots grew into legs. The leaves rustled in a way that sounded like a, "hmph" and the Luffy Plant turned around to ignore her, walking over into the corner that didn't have a chair. This only made her bawl with laughter, tears coming to her eyes, "Oh gawd! This is great! Just too much!"

After a moment the Luffy Plant went back to where he left the book. He looked at the page it was open to and then turned the page. He then turned another page and another. After a moment, she finally calmed down with a deep and cheery sigh before going back to her book, "I wonder if I could make it rain ..."

"I'm sure Mage-kun would appreciate that," said Robin with a laugh.

In the corner, the Luffy Plant was turning pages more frantically, slightly hindered by not really having arms. Nami burst into laughter then before turning to Luffy, and noticing this, "I'm sorry ... Are we ruffling you up a bit!? Or maybe _rustling_ is the more appropriate word!" she said before bursting out into more laughter.

The plant shook, and continued turning pages. "You having a little trouble there? You're looking a little less green ..." continued Nami, releasing a giggle this time. The plant stopped by a certain page on the book, paused for a moment. A pair of woody arms grew out of the plant. The plant looked down at the arms and then scratched at what would be the top of his head.

Nami released a series of giggles to this. "You look ridiculous!" she said before turning around, "Now, let's see about some rain for Woody over there," she said before finding the page and reading the incantation out loud. There was a light tap on the window, and soon more taps followed as raindrops softly pelted the glass. She could hear complaints from the people outside, who hadn't been expecting rain. Nami only giggled, "How long will it last?" she asked, looking outside.

"Hmm," Robin looked at the page. "At this level of power, probably only a minute at the most."

Luffy Plant picked up a piece of paper and a pen. He wrote something on it and walked over to place it on the table.

Blinking a bit, Nami shifted her eyes to the paper before pouting a bit at Luffy. Reaching out, she pulled it to her and read it.

On the paper read, "Do you know where the rest of the counter spell is?"

Her brow quirked up in question. "Counter spell? What're you talking about?" she asked, the rain still pelting the glass.

He took the note and wrote, "For the shape shifting spell. The rest of the spell is smudged out ..."

Nami blinked before looking up at him. "Are you stuck like that ...?"

The plant nodded, or rustled. Her lips twitched a few times before humor could be read all over her face, and then she burst into more laughter. Not being able to help herself, Robin also laughed, but took the book, opening it to the right page, where the spell was indeed smudged and said, "Oh, this spell," she chuckled.

"That's why you gotta look before you leap!" said Nami, still laughing to her heart's content. The Plant shook its fist at Nami. "Oooh, and what're you gonna do to me like that, huh?" she asked in a baby coo, "Are you gonna shed your leaves on me!?" she said, still laughing ... and it was still raining outside.

Luffy Plant grew several leaves from his arm, and reached up tickle Nami's chin and nose.

"Oye!" she said, leaning back, but then she kept laughing, "Is that the best you can do?" she asked, still in her baby coo, "It's almost cute~! But, no, it's quite pathetic~!"

Luffy Plant took another piece of paper and wrote on it. "You will pay!"

This only made her go into another bout of laughter. "Sure, sure!" she said, waving her hand from side to side, but then looked at the window and blinked a bit, "Is it raining harder?"

Robin looked up from the book. "Ah, yes, sometimes the power of spells is affected by the caster's emotions. Beneficial spells are affected by joy, while damaging spells are affected by anger."

"Oh ... I see ..." said Nami, tilting her head slightly, "But ... I thought you said it would only last a minute ..."

Robin frowned out the window. "It was supposed to ..."

"Mm ... ah well ... It's just rain," she said with a shrug, but then looked back down at the Luffy Plant, "Sure you don't wanna go outside and wet your roots a little, huh?" she asked, giving him a wink.

Plant Luffy stuck his leaf out at her again and then took the paper again to write on it, "What are you talking about?"

She laughed some more. "Oh, that's cute. You poor boy," she said, shaking her head. "Don't worry your leafy little head about it," she said, patting the top of his leafy ... head.

Robin laughed to this. "Don't make too much fun of him. It's not his fault if he doesn't know what it means," she said with a smile and a giggle.

"No, I guess not~!" said Nami, chuckling a bit more with a hand to her lips and looking at Robin. "Now, how to make the rain stop," she said, looking back down at the book, though she was still smiling, letting Robin help out the ... Luffy Plant.

Robin found the proper passage and chanted the counter spell. Luffy grew out from the plant, and shook his head. "Ugh, that's a terrible spell."

"Well," said Robin. "you shouldn't be transforming into inanimate objects so soon into learning transforming spells."

Nami released a devious little giggle from her place with her back turned to Luffy. Stretching out, Luffy cracked his neck and said, "Oh well, at least I'm getting the hang of this." He transformed his hand into a blade again.

"Good at hanging laundry maybe ... If you grow into a tree, we could hang a line off you ..." she said, giggling some more.

"As long as I can still move, that might be kind of cool."

She snorted into laughter. "You're so stupid. You'd get bored within two seconds."

"Why do you think I was getting so frantic earlier?" he said with a pout. She giggled again, her back still turned.

Luffy yawned and walked around to slouch against the table, sitting down. "Ugh, that took too much energy. I'm exhausted."

"I'm sure being a plant is very tiring ..." said Nami, still reading over her book with an amused smile.

He flopped his head over to the side. "You have no idea ..."

She giggled again. "You're so stupid ..."

"And tired ..." he sighed.

She snorted and laughed a bit to that, "You're not even denying it?"

"Too tired ..." he yawned.

She sighed and closed the book. "I take it that's your way of saying you want to sleep ..."

"Mah ..." he mumbled into the table, more exhausted than ever before. He was dangerously low on his energy.

"Haah ..." she exclaimed, setting the book down before turning to Robin and asked, "How big is your spare bed?"

"Big enough for one person," she set her own book aside. "But mine can fit two, you can use it."

"Ah, thanks … and sorry," said Nami, giving a bit of a nervous smile before lifting Luffy up, but careful not to let her breasts brush against him, "Come on, you idiot ... Let's go ..." she said before turning to Robin again, "Which way, please?"

"This way," said Robin, leading them to her bedroom. "I'm curious to see this."

Nami chuckled nervously, but said, "Ah yeah ... I went through that faze too ..." she said, following Robin into the bedroom and then going in. She helped Luffy into the bed before lifting his arm. "Ready?" she asked Robin with a smile.

"Yes," replied Robin and raised a skeptical eyebrow, with a mysterious smile.

Looking back down at Luffy, Nami gave him a big smile before brushing his arm across her chest.

Luffy blinked, confused at her smile, but as soon as his arm made contact with her chest, his eyes drooped and he started snoring. This made Robin hum, and then she said, "Interesting."

"Uh huh!" replied Nami with a strain as she tried to hold him up. Then she eased him down into the bed, but then lifted up his legs into the bed to remove his boots. "Works like a charm every time ..."

"I see," Robin glanced down at the sleeping mage. "So how long does it last for?"

"Only a few hours without direct contact ... Maybe two or three ... and then he wakes up ... So ... that means ... I have to sleep _with_ him ..." she said with a deep sigh, removing the covers from under him with trouble to cover him.

"Ah," Robin laughed lightly. "I can see how that would be inconvenient."

"Yes, very ... You have no idea," muttered Nami, dropping his boots into a corner with a sigh while facing her and putting her hands on her hips. "And now I shall change since he's asleep ..."

"Very well," Robin turned to leave. "Do you need anything else?"

Nami chuckled. "No, I think you have done enough for us already," she said, but looked around. "I need to get my things from the front."

"Oh, of course," she smiled. "I'm glad to help."

"Ah, no! I can get it!" she said, following her out and leaving Luffy there. "You just have no idea how inconvenient this is for me ... It's very uncomfortable, and I always wake up in ... awkward ways. It's bad enough he's such an idiot, but a real pervert-Ugh! I really can't stand him! It was great earlier when he was stuck as a plant," she said with another giggle. "He really should do that more often," she said as she knelt in front of her bag to get her nightdress.

"I see," said Robin.

After they left, Luffy started rolling around in his sleep. In his dream, he could see Nami walking away from him. _"Nami, wait!"_ She turned around, her face asking him, 'Why?' Behind her, the darkness grew thicker and started to swallow her up. _"Nami!" _ yelledLuffy, running forward but growing further away. The darkness swallowed Nami up whole. "_Nami_!" he screamed, sitting straight up in bed.

Not hearing Robin's words, Nami gasped loudly and quickly looked towards the room. Without giving it a second thought, she surged to her feet and rushed towards Robin's room and to Luffy. "Luffy!" she cried, running into the room and looking over at him.

Luffy looked up at her, breathing heavily. "You're still here ..." he whispered and sighed in relief, closing his eyes. Robin followed Nami into the bedroom and just watched Nami skeptically, seeing as she rushed into the room where Luffy had just yelled from.

"What the hell're you talking about!?" yelled Nami, going over to him and thumping his forehead. "What the hell're you screamin' out my name for, you idiot!" she said, placing her fists to her hips.

"Nothing," groaned Luffy, laying back against the pillow. "Just a nightmare."

"What the hell!? You're having nightmares about me, you ass!? I hope I was torturing you somehow!" she said, storming back out of the room to get her nightdress.

"Can't stand him, can you?" asked Robin sarcastically, and even smirk was gentle.

"What're you talking about now!? Of course I can't! You see that?" she said, pointing back at Luffy without looking at him. "I gotta put up with that nonsense all the time!" she said as she kept going to the main room. "Do you have some place else I can change?"

"Of course," Robin fixed Nami with a skeptical smile."Which was why you ran to his side so fast."

"Well he yelled my name! Scared me!" she said with a huff as she dug into her bag and pulled out her nightdress. "Where can I change?" she asked, turning to Robin with a deep frown.

"The bathroom is just down the corner there," Robin chuckled at Nami's reaction. "Something tells me you care more than you let on."

"I have no idea what you're talking about! I don't give a shit about that rat's ass!" she said, going into the bathroom and slamming the door behind her. "Damn it," she muttered to herself as she paced the bathroom floor. Her heart was still pounding.

"That stupid son of a bitch," she muttered after awhile before taking off her dress to change into her nightdress. Then she left, taking her things to go back to the room, where she knew he was still awake, and ignoring Robin. The woman was obviously daft. Robin just chuckled at her and went to her guest room to prepare for the night.

Luffy opened his eyes, obviously unable to get back to sleep. The dream had shaken him more than he thought it should have. His heart was still racing, and he could barely keep himself from shaking.

Walking up to the bed, she saw the movement of his shaking through the covers. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she asked, climbing into the other side.

"Nothing," he muttered, taking a deep breath.

"Whatever, I don't really care. Turn around," she said, nodding towards the opposite side, and he turned around, like she told him to.

Scooting over more across the bed, she wrapped an arm around him for comfort and then pressed her chest into his back. "Go back to sleep, idiot ..."

"Yeah ..." he whispered and almost instantly fell asleep. Sighing deeply, her breasts pressing more into his back with the breath she took, she then closed her eyes and went to sleep.

**To Be Continued …**

**Authors' Note:**

Con: Nightmare, huh? Interesting ... very interesting ...

Darth: Indeed. And only the power of boobies can combat it!

Con: *Punches Dart again* Don't make me hurt you-Oh ... wait ...

Darth: Owww...

Con: It's a wonder the readers are mistaking you for a horny teenager ... Wait, no ... it's not a wonder at all ... *Picks nose*

Darth: Horny teenager...horny nigh-mid-twenties. What's the difference?

Con: Sadly ... none ... Not when it comes to you ... *Sigh*

Darth: I know how to solve this. Step 1: Find a girlfriend. Step 2: ... Any takers?

Con: Step 3: Show just how pathetic you are. Step 4: Watch as all women make a run for it. Step 5: Laugh my ass off. Wait, step 5 is for me ...

Darth: Step 6: Kill everyone...

Con: Step 7: Punch Dart in the face. *Punches Dart* Hope you guys enjoyed~! :D Until next time~!

Darth: I'm not done!

Con: -.-

Darth: Worship me ye female masses!

Con: *Punches him on the head* Until next time ... -_-; *Dares him to get up again*

Darth: Womenz...!

Con: *Smothers him with pillows, not her own pillows ...* Thanks for reading, and again, until next time! XD Ja ne~~!

Darth: Boooobies...

Con: *Clubs him over the head and drags him off*


	8. Chapter 8: She Rejects

**Authors' Note:**

Con: I'm busy! Go away! DX

Darth: Oi, oi, I've got homework I'm working on!

Con: Yeah, but I did it all myself! DX Go away! *Is making no sense*

Darth: No, you are not making sense. And why are you changing your avatar!? I liked looking at Hancock's boobs every time you said something.

Con: Because Shanks is pure epic manliness ... and he's hot. Why do I care about some woman's boobs? I am a woman ... and I would rather stare at Shanks all day long. Admit it. You would lose your virginity to Shanks ...

Darth: I'm sorry, but that's reserved for Batman.

Con: Admit it ...

Darth: Get Hancock in there and make it a threesome and I'll consider it.

Con: ... Shanks is way worth it without the added incentive ... Just look at him ... He's Shanks ... You would do it ... Admit it _NAO_! XO Batman doesn't make you squeal in an epic fangasm! Shanks made you squeal like a girl on the cusp of her climax! ADMIT IT!!! DX

Darth: NEVER! All Batman has to do is show up on a page! He doesn't even have to be doing anything!

Con: LIES! ADMIT IT! AND SHANKS DID JUST SHOW UP ON A PAGE! AND THE MOMENT YOU CLICKED NEXT, AND YOU SAW HIS IMAGE, YOU SQUEALED LIKE A BITCH IN HEAT!! ADMIT IT!!

Darth: I NEED AN ADULT! I NEED AN ADULT!

Con: Bahahahahahahahaha! You lose~! I love Batman and all, but if I had my virginity still, I would lose it to the hotness and epicness that is Shanks before I lose it to Batman. So, now ... where were we? Oh right ... The next chapter to Charmed ... Hmm ... Well, we will let you all just read them. 0.o

Darth: Indeed. Now if you'll excuse me, I have Hancock/Nami/Robin doujinshis to look for.

Con: -_-

**Charmed**

**Chapter 8: She Rejects**

Sighing a bit in her sleep, Nami released a soft groan before blinking her eyes open to the bright sunlight in the room. Groaning a bit, she buried further into the nice warmth before stiffening when her senses finally came back to her. Shifting her eyes downward, she could see and feel that they were completely intertwined this time. Her arms were completely wrapped around him and his around her tightly. She could also feel that his leg was between hers, riding up her nightdress and one of her legs was curled around his waist, "What the ...?"

Luffy murmured in his sleep, tightening his arms around Nami.

"Oye, oye! Idiot, wake up!" she yelled, trying to get loose, but his hold on her was very tight. "Luffy!"

"Muu ..." His eyes started to flutter.

"Luffy, wake up!" she said, still trying to get free.

"Wha ...?" He opened his eyes, and stared directly into Nami's eyes. "Huh...?"

"I said wake up! Let go of me!"

"Huh?" He quickly let go of her, and jumped away from her, but there wasn't much space left, and he fell out of bed. "Oww!"

Grumbling, she threw the blankets off before standing up and storming over to him. "What the hell, Luffy!?"

"Oww," he muttered, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head.

She stood with her legs apart and fists on her hips. "Why the hell am I always waking up like that, huh!?"

"I don't know," he groaned. "I was asleep! You woke me up this time."

"Ugh!" she exclaimed, frowning deeply. "You disgust me!"

Luffy looked up at her, his face flushed, and his morning wood reawakening. With the morning light, he could see her naked body through the thin nightdress. He looked down and stood up. "I'm not the only person who moves in his sleep."

She crossed her arms under her bust, pushing them up more, causing her already perky nipples to perk up even more through the material, and her frown deepened. "What're you trying to say? That it's my fault!?"

"No!" He coughed, trying to focus on her face, instead of her chest. She was always so irrational in the morning. "But it's not just my fault!"

"Ooh, I see," she said, leaning forward a bit, causing her breasts to do the same. "You're saying it's my fault too then? Sorry! But I'm not the perverted idiot like you are! Now get out so I can change!"

Luffy's eyebrow twitched. He stood up straight, just barely taller than her. His eyes were hard, the eyes of a man, who'd faced down some of the deadliest sorcerers in the country. "That's enough! You're the one who offered to help me sleep, knowing exactly how we've woken up the past few nights! Don't blame me, because we move in our sleep!"

"I can blame you all I want to! It's my right since I _am_ helping you sleep! If you want to sleep, then you just have to put up with it, now don't you!? Now get out so I can change!" she yelled back, her frown becoming angry.

Luffy tightened his right hand into a fist. His aura starting to leak out, the furniture in the room started to shake as the air in the room started to get heavier, and vibrate.

Her brow quirked then as her lips curved up into a smirk, and she said, "Ooh, the big, tough mage is getting angry. What're you going to do, Luffy?"

Luffy's eyes started glowing again, giving his face an inhuman appearance. "You really want to know what I'll do?" He chuckled ominously.

She huffed, looking away and down at her nails. "No, not really ..."

"Too bad," he chuckled, a wind started to build up in the room, blowing the sheets around, before focusing directly under Nami and pushing her nightgown up.

Shrieking, she grabbed onto it and shoved it down before yelling angrily over the loudness of the blowing winds with a very angry frown, "Luffy, you asshole! I'm going to kick your sorry ass, you son of a bitch!"

Luffy laughed and ran out of the room, the winds dissipating. "Hey, you keep calling me a pervert, so I might as well act like it!" He snickered.

"You jerk!" she screeched, running out after him, grabbing an umbrella she spotted to chase after him with and yelled, "I'm going to make you hurt!"

When Robin came out after waking up to all the noise, she found Nami chasing Luffy with an Umbrella. For a while, she watched Nami swinging at Luffy, who kept dodging out of the way. Finally, she asked, "What is going on here?"

"Grrr!" Nami growled in her fury as she swung at him again. "You ass! You're going to pay for that!"

"Ha!" He ducked out of the way again. "You asked for it!" He stuck his tongue out at her.

Robin sighed and and crossed her arms in front of her. "Venti Fleur." Arms grew out of the floor and the two younger people, holding them down.

"Aah!" Nami exclaimed, blinking down at the limbs holding her in place before looking up at Robin. "Ooh ... Robin ... sorry ..."

"Now," Robin started, "that everyone is calm. Perhaps you might explain what happened here?" Luffy just laughed.

Nami pursed her lips out deeply as she turned her anger on him and yelled, "This perverted asshole used a gust of wind to blow up my nightdress!"

"Oh?" Robin frowned.

"She deserved it!" Luffy frowned. "She just got mad at me, and I hadn't even done anything. I hadn't even woken up yet!"

"I woke up to you having a deathgrip on me! And your leg was in between mine!" she yelled at him. "That wasn't nothing!"

"And you had your arms around me too!" Luffy shot back. "And your leg was all the way around my back!"

"Probably because I was uncomfortable with how you had me!" she retorted, though it was a pretty weak argument.

"Bullshit, you were gripping onto me like you were afraid to let go!"

"You're the one full of shit!" she yelled back. "All I want to _do_ is get away from you!"

"That's not what you were doing in your sleep!" he yelled. Seeing that they were just arguing now, Robin finally released them.

"Shut up, you idiot!" Nami yelled, grabbing a nearby book and throwing it at him. "I can't stand you!" she yelled quite loudly in her frustration before going to her bag to get a new change of clothes. One of her new bodices and a skirt, and then she stormed off back towards the room, slamming the door lightly, seeing as it wasn't her house. Then she changed her clothes roughyly in her anger. "Asshole!" she yelled at the closed door just for good measure.

Robin sighed, but then chuckled. Well, there went that, but at least they were done arguing.

Luffy crossed his arms, standing where he was. Robin laughed and said, "You're both very lively."

"Eh?" Luffy looked at her. "You think so?"

Huffing a bit, Nami walked over to the bed and sat down gently, staring at the opposite wall. "The stupid moron," she muttered before falling back onto it, which it still felt warm, since they had been lying there only moments before. Turning her head, she ran her hand over the warmth and frowned. "Hmm ..." She felt something weird about the warmth.

"Do you want to use the bathroom?" Robin asked Luffy.

Luffy shrugged and replied, "Eh, that's all right."

"Very well," Robin said and went into the kitchen to start making breakfast.

Sitting up, Nami placed both hands over the warmth and focused a bit. There was a faint glow that emitted from her hands, causing her to gasp and pull them away. "What was that?" she whispered before frowning softly. Getting up, she sighed deeply before making up the bed and leaving with her clothes. Ignoring Luffy completely, she then carefully placed her dress and night dress back into her bag.

Luffy sat down at the table. He was really thinking that Nami wasn't worth it to have around. Though she did help him sleep, and for some reason he enjoyed being around her. It was very confusing.

Once she packed it all away, she went into the kitchen where Robin was. "Um ... sorry about this morning," she said, smiling sheepishly. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, that's all right," Robin smiled at the younger woman. "I'm almost done here." A few moments later though, she said, "Perhaps you could go make amends with Luffy-kun, both of you were acting quite silly."

"Like hell!" Nami replied instantly. "I don't ever plan to make amends with that moron! I can never forgive him for all that he's done!"

"Then how about just for breakfast?" She flipped the eggs. "You must understand, things could be much worse than they are right now."

"What're you talking about?" Nami asked, frowning a little deeper.

"You haven't heard much about mage guilds, have you?" Robin placed the eggs and bacon on a plate, several hands grew out of her arms to pick up the coffee and porridge, fruit and toast.

Nami sighed deeply and replied back quietly, "No ... I guess not ..."

"Well, just keep in mind," Robin started, carrying the plates out of the kitchen, "you could have gotten worse than him."

Her frown deepened more as she watched her walk passed, but then sighed again as she helped to carry some of the plates and left to follow her to the table. Taking a seat opposite Luffy, better that than beside him, she continued on as if he wasn't there at all.

Robin set the plates down on the table, and sat down herself at the head. "Please, enjoy," she said to the two younger people.

"Shishi, thanks," Luffy said and started eating, already in a better mood.

"Thank you, Robin," Nami said, also starting to eat.

"You're welcome," Robin said as she took a piece of toast and started nibbling on it. "So, back to the library later?"

"I guess'o ... Pervy mage over here wants to figure out why my breasts put him to sleep still," Nami muttered as she played with her food a bit before taking in a forkful.

"If I were pervy mage I'd tell you your breasts put me to sleep, and then fake it," Luffy said with a bit of bacon hanging out his mouth. "But I'm not, so there."

"That's because you _can't_ fake it, but if you could, I bet you would, jackass," Nami retorted, eating some of the fruit and toast.

"Yeah? We'll you're the one who keeps letting me touch," Luffy swallowed an egg on toast. "Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black to me."

"Then I guess you don't like your sleep, creep. If I recall ... a certain someone crying since he couldn't sleep," she said instantly, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Talk to me again when you've gone several weeks without sleep, and we'll see how dry-eyed you are ... or alive ..."

"Says the big bad mage," Nami said, frowning at him now

Robin paused with her coffee mug halfway to her lips. "Several weeks?"

Looking to Robin now, Nami just scoffed before shifting her gaze back to Luffy as she nodded and said, "So he says ..."

"If you really want to find out what it's like," Luffy started, "I know the spell. You're welcome to try it out anytime you want. Just a warning, I don't know the counter spell, so you'd be stuck like that ..."

"You try it, and I off you in your sleep!" she said, surging out of her chair and pushing it away loudly as she pointed a finger at him, "You just remember how vulnerable you are when you first pass out, you fucked up asshole!"

However, Luffy kept eating, ignoring Nami's outburst.

Clenching her fists at her sides and growing angrier by the second, she grabbed a handful of eggs and rammed it into his face. "Jerk!" she yelled before storming out of the house. "Fuck you!"

Luffy ignored the eggs. Instead, a ripe pear levitated into the air, and flew straight at the back of Nami's head, bursting on impact. Robin just watched the two of them, feeling both awkward and amused at the same time.

Screaming when the mess flew on her, Nami turned a scowl on him before pointing a finger at him. "Just you wait!" she yelled before walking out and slamming the door behind her. She tried her best to get the mess off, but there was no hope. Tears came to her eyes now that she was alone, the frustration overwhelming her. "Stupid asshole ..."

Luffy sighed, and stood up to follow her. Once outside the door he saw her, and without a word, snapped his fingers, and the pear mess disappeared off of her. He turned around and went back inside, not saying a word. Blinking when she didn't feel the wetness anymore, she grabbed her hair, feeling that it was dry. Turning around, she saw the door closing, but not who went back inside. Blinking a bit, which caused more of her tears to fall, she frowned softly before just continuing on.

Luffy sat down at the table again, but then he looked up at Robin and muttered, "Sorry."

"Are you all right with letting her leave?" Robin asked. "You could get in a lot of trouble with your guild?"

"They won't care. I have the money she owed me. And if she wants, she'll come to the library ..."

Sniffling softly, she wiped at her eyes, but then jumped at an unexpected voice so close to her, "Are you all right, miss?"

"Oh!" she said, but then laughed nervously, and then said as she continued on, "I-I'm fine, thank you."

"Are you sure there's nothing I can do?"

"N-No, I'm fine, thanks," she replied, smiling over her shoulder and kept going, and the man didn't persist. However, more men started asking her the same thing, which started to really bother her. "I'm fine! Just leave me alone!" she said to them, becoming frustrated when they started to surround her.

"Here, have a handkerchief!"

"I could take you to eat somewhere. It would make you feel better!"

"How about a walk with company!?"

"I said I was fine! Please leave me alone!" she yelled, trying to push passed them, but more kept gathering around her. "Stop it! I said go away!" However, she became a little more fearful when some started to grab at her.

"I was here first!"

"No way! I want to take the beautiful lady!"

"Back off! She's mine!"

"No! Stop it!" she yelled, yanking away from their grasp, but this only pulled at her clothes, which revealed bared skin, which set them off. "No! Stop it!"

After finishing breakfast, Luffy and Robin started heading towards the library. They weren't far from Robin's apartment, when they noticed a commotion ahead of them, a woman's voice coming from the middle of it. Something in him told Luffy what was happening, and he ran towards the crowd immediately. "Nami!"

Shoving men out of the way with his increased strength, he made his way to the center of the throng, where he found a sight that cleared his mind of thought and filled it with white hot rage. Nami's clothes had been almost completely ripped from her body, and their hands just kept grabbing for her, and she looked terrified. His eyes started to glow as his aura ignited. A shock-wave knocked the crowd away, the force creating a barrier between the him and Nami, and the crowd.

"Aren't you glad I got my sleep last night?" Luffy asked, his back turned to her with his head turning around to look around at the crowd as he glared at them. "The only reason any of you will continue walking, is because you are not entirely in control of your actions. Otherwise you would all be in a lot of pain right now. Now piss off!"

Shaking hard, Nami didn't really hear his words as she hugged herself tightly and cried softly. Even though she was almost without clothing, she didn't move from where she was with her head lowered to her lap to cover herself. All the men had flown every which way and women screamed from the sudden shockwave that tossed up their skirts a bit. At the sound of Luffy's voice and the danger laced within it, the men all got up and ran away quickly.

Robin approached the two after the crowd had cleared. The barrier was still up, but she passed right through it. She placed her hand on Luffy's shoulder and said, "It's all right, you can calm down now." Without waiting for his reaction she knelt down in front of Nami, and placed her hands on her, gently guiding her into a hug.

Luffy exhaled, the barrier dissipated, and his robes settled down, the winds no longer buffeting them. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, the faint glow fading from under his eyelids. More sobs ripped through her as relief finally found her, and she let herself lean into Robin's comfort, but she didn't stop hugging herself tightly. She was still shaking badly from the scare and shock, and didn't look to be calming down any time soon.

Luffy glanced at Nami over his shoulder, and looked away, knowing full well there was nothing he could do for her in this situation. It hurt him, feeling helpless, and seeing her in so much pain...

"It's all right, you're safe now," Robin whispered, gently rocking the sobbing woman.

After awhile, Nami did finally calm down, clutching at her shredded clothes. Sniffling quite loudly, she then pulled away from Robin, still shivering ever so slightly and said, "I-I ... need to ... change ..."

"Of course," Robin said and stood up, holding her hands out to help her stand up.

Nami took only one, seeing as she used the other to attempt to keep her clothes on. Her legs were a bit unsteady and still shaky as she tried to remain on them and hoping they would keep her weight. Luffy pulled off his robes, revealing the pants and shirt he wore underneath them, and draped the garment over Nami's shoulder. It wasn't much, but it was all he could do in this situation.

Gasping softly, Nami turned to look up at him, tears still in her eyes and just realizing what had happened. She vaguely remembered seeing his face appear through the crowd, and then suddenly all the men were gone. At that moment, she had felt safe, though still in shock. After looking up at him for awhile, she averted her eyes, not being able to meet his gaze. "Thanks," she whispered softly, before unsteadily walking passed him.

"You're ... welcome ..." he said, barely audible as he turned to follow her and Robin back to Robin's apartment.

Robin walked besides Nami, stepping ahead of her to open the door once they reached the apartment, allowing the other two inside. Stepping up, Nami's faulty legs gave, and she fell back with a gasp. Luffy reached out, catching her before she could fall any further. He froze, unsure of how to react, from the close contact with her.

Gasping a little softer this time, she looked up at him over her shoulder before righting herself. However, she was still shaking a bit. She muttered her thanks again before attempting the climb up again, feeling rather pathetic. More tears came to her eyes in her frustration as she made it to the top of the stairs, hiding within his robes while walking through the door. She knelt in front of her bag to grab the other bodice and skirt she had inside before quickly going into the room to change.

Going into the kitchen, Robin set a kettle of water on the stove. While it was boiling, she went about preparing to make a soothing tea for Nami. Standing at the doorway, Luffy's whole body was still shaking from the adrenaline. When he'd seen her, lying there like that, with all those men grabbing her, he'd lost all sense of reason. It scared him that he had almost wanted to just kill them all. What did this girl mean to him, that she could enrage him so, and be the cause of so much fury when in danger? Why did he put so much trouble into her? When she caused so much trouble for him? He continued to think about it, trying to make sense of his situation.

Bursting into quiet tears once she was in the room, she slunked down into the door, bringing his robe around her more to bury herself within its warmth. Warmth ... She could feel it ... his warmth within the robe. It felt warm and safe. Why was it that she felt safe with the one person she most disliked, and the one person who had kidnapped her, taking away her freedon again?

After awhile, she dried her tears and stood up on still shaky legs to change her clothes. However, she still wasn't quite ready to leave the room. So instead, she went to the bed and climbed into it, taking the robe with her to wrap back around herself, but covering even her head with it. She felt safest completely within its contours.

After not hearing from her for a while, Luffy debated whether to knock on the door. He hesitated, because he didn't want to make things worse...

Sniffling softly from under the robe, she stared down at her toes within the darkness, barely able to make them out. She really wanted to go home. However, she wasn't sure now if she would be safe even there. She had no choice really but to figure this thing out. She needed to find out how to control it. Even when she'd told them to stop and to go away, they hadn't obeyed. Why hadn't they obeyed?

Finally, Luffy decided to knock on the door, but before he was about to do so, Robin came to him with a cup of tea. "Give this to her," she said, "It will help calm her nerves."

Taking the mug, Luffy nodded with his thanks and knocked on the door. A muffled, "What," sounded through the door.

"It's me," Luffy said through the door. "Can I come in? I have some tea for you."

There was silence for a long while, but then she finally replied, again muffled, "Sure ..."

He opened the door, and looked inside the room. She was lying huddled on the bed. He walked over to her and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Here," he said and handed her the mug.

After awhile, she peeked out from underneath the robe, her eyes and nose red and her eyes still a bit water. Her hair had come undone, and was now draped over her shoulder. She glanced up into his eyes for a second before lowering them again and taking the tea. However, she then went back underneath his robes, taking a sip of the tea. "So ... let's hear it," she mumbled from underneath them.

"Hear what?" He blinked, a worried expression on his face.

"I don't know ... The lines of lectures or ... how you were right ... What was it you said earlier? "Aren't you glad I got my sleep?" or something," She mumbled, sounding a little nazzled as she took another sip.

Luffy said nothing. Instead, he looked down at his lap for a little while. His confusion was coming to a climax, he didn't know what to think, or say.

"What? You don't got anything for me?" she asked, snorting softly from under the robe, "I would have figured you'd have lots to say to me."

"Sorry," he said.

She bubbled over a bit with soft and nasally laughter and said, "Sorry? You're sorry that you have nothing witty to say to me?"

He took a deep breath and sighed, and then he said, "No, I'm sorry for-That you ended up in that situation."

She snorted a little louder then and said, "I ended up in that situation, because you pissed me off ..."

"I know ..."

She felt worse, not better. He admitted that it was his fault. Shouldn't that make her feel better? Sniffling softly, she finally then said, "I want to figure out why this is happening. I want to be able to stop it; to control it. I don't _want_ to be relying on _you_ ..."

He looked up at her, his eyes with a determined light in them. "I promise you, I'll do whatever I can to help figure out what's happening. I'll do whatever I can ... as long as you want me to."

Blinking within the robes, her breath caught in her chest and her skin tightened as her heart jolted into a fast rhythm. After only a moment, she peered out with only one eye to look up at him, that single eye owlishly wide. Luffy almost gasped. In that singular moment, he'd never seen anything as beautiful as she was then. He kept his gaze firm, but soaked up the image, locking it away in his heart.

After a moment, her cheeks flushed, and she retreated back under the robes. "Y-You don't have to do that! I-I don't ... I don't need you to! I can ... do it myself!" she said in a nervous ramble, not exactly sure why she _should_ feel nervous.

Luffy leaned forward, entranced by her beauty, even if she had disappeared under his robes. The image was still there in his mind. "I want to," he said, "Even if you don't want it, I will never let anyone hurt you again, until we can figure out a way to control what is happening."

She clenched her eyes shut, not sure at all how to handle how he was acting at that moment, and she said, "But-But I don't need it!"

He carefully reached out with his hand, gently peeling the robe back to reveal her underneath, and then cupped her cheek. His heart was racing, and he was afraid that he was making a mistake. "I want to do it anyway."

Sucking in her breath, her cheeks enflamed with color as her eyes widened, but then she slapped his hand away. "Stop!" she whispered with force, staring down at the bed. She was confused and her heart wouldn't stop beating so quickly. She was scared.

He leaned back, away from her, and pulled his hand back. He sat there, watching her, waiting for her decision.

She shook her head then, not understanding anything in that moment. So, she went with the one thing she did understand and muttered, "I don't need anything from you ..."

He nodded slowly, and then stood up. "Well, when you're ready ... we're going to the library ..."

"Right," she muttered, her voice shaky, but then looked over her shoulder. Grabbing the robe, she then thrust it out to him and said, "Take it ... I don't need this either ..."

"Thank you," he said, taking the robe and leaving the room, closing the door behind him all without looking at her. After he had left, he leaned against the door, clutching his chest and breathing heavily. It hurt …

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she felt her stomach churn and her chest clench tightly. Taking a deep and shaky breath, she laid down into the bed and curled into a ball. She must have remained that way for at least an hour and a half with her thoughts running through her head at high speed. After a moment, she finally climbed out of the bed, taking the cup with her and left the room.

Luffy was sitting in the corner that he'd been sitting in before, reading the same book and Robin was in the kitchen, preparing lunch.

Glancing at Luffy only briefly, Nami then headed into the kitchen, setting the cup down onto the counter and said softly, "Thank you ..."

"You're welcome," Robin said, finishing preparations for lunch. "Are you hungry?"

"Mm, a-a little bit," Nami replied, attempting to smile at the older woman.

Robin returned her smile with her own gentle, mysterious smile and asked, "Could you help me set the table?"

"Y-Yes, of course," Nami said, going forward the grab the plates and silverware before heading out to the table to do so.

Once the table had been set, Luffy sat down where he'd sat during breakfast. Robin placed the food on the table, and sat down herself. "Please, help yourselves."

Nami stared down at the table and food, but she didn't move right away to partake of it. Luffy, without his usual gusto, filled his plate and started eating. After just staring down at the food on the table and watching as their hands grabbed for things, Nami finally and slowly do so as well.

The meal passed in silence, and once they had finished eating, Luffy leaned back in his chair and sat there silently. Wiping her mouth clean, Nami finally said, "Thank you, Robin ... for the food. We should ... probably buy more later, since we're eating yours. I - I would ... like to go to the library now."

"Don't worry. That won't be necessary." Robin said as she started to clear off the table, "And of course, we'll go immediately."

Nami looked up at Robin in some confusion, but she wasn't going to ask. Nodding, she turned to the door and walked to it, but refused to walk out until they joined her. Luffy stood up, carrying his dishes and some of the others to the kitchen. Then he went to stand by the door, and Robin following behind him.

Opening the door slowly, Nami peered out as if she might be afraid still, but then stepped out, but didn't go down the steps until they did first, or at least one of them.

Robin walked out of the door, closing it behind her, once Luffy had left. She then took the lead, walking towards the library. Nami followed closely behind her, glancing only a few times behind her to make sure Luffy was still there, and looking around a bit nervously. Following closely behind Nami, Luffy glared at anyone, man or woman, who dared come to close to them.

After several minutes of walking Robin led them up the steps to the library doors, and walked through them. The morning shift assistant was there, standing behind the counter. Robin nodded to her, and led Luffy and Nami to the restricted section.

Once they were inside, Nami released a shaky breath in relief, shaking a bit in her nervousness as she followed after Robin quickly, who unlocked the door of the restricted section and held it open for them. Nami rushed in, feeling even safer within that room before looking around at the books again. Going through each spine, she found some that might explain what was going on with her and sat down to read them without saying a word.

Luffy followed them inside, reaching for the last book he'd looked at yesterday and then the next several. Robin closed the door behind them and started perusing book titles as well. Nami skimmed through a few books, what seemed like a few hours had to have passed, and she sighed deeply, closing the latest book. She couldn't find a thing. "I don't understand," she whispered to herself softly.

"What is it?" Robin turned away from the shelves, carrying a few books with her to the table.

"I've gone through so many books already ... and nothing," Nami said, sighing again as she grabbed a thicker book.

"Well," Robin started, sitting down at the table. "It's certainly no kind of magic I've ever heard of."

"That's what stretchy over there said too," Nami said, frowning down at the book. "Have you read any of these? We might be able to rule out the ones you've read to make this go faster ..."

"I've read most of the books," Robin drummed her fingers against the stack of books she had collected. "These here are the only ones I haven't read through yet."

Nami blinked. "Oh," she said, setting the book she had done before going to the pile and taking a book. "Well, that makes it much easier," she said, opening it and sitting back down.

Both Luffy and Robin also grabbed another book to continue searching. Still, Nami still found nothing, and so she grabbed another book. She was getting a bit worried they may never find an explanation.

After awhile longer, Luffy groaned and put the book down. "We're not finding anything here," he muttered.

Setting her book down as well, Nami grabbed another, rubbing at her eyes a bit from using them so much, and she asked, "What if we don't find anything?"

"Then we'll check another library," Luffy yawned. "These books aren't mass produced, so each library will have different books." He remembered the one passage he'd found, and wondered whether it was worth mentioning.

Nami slammed the book closed, getting more frustrated. She wasn't going to be able to just walk down the street anymore if she didn't learn to control whatever it was that was happening to her.

Luffy sighed and said, "There's only one thing I found, and it was just some old weird romance story, didn't really tell me anything."

Nami stiffened, but didn't turn to look at him and asked, "Romance story?"

"Yeah, it was about this woman who could control men, and the one man she couldn't control." Luffy shrugged.

Nami blinked, turning slightly as she asked in encouragement, "Oh? And ...?"

"Well, the story went that she did everything she could to get his attention, but no luck." He shrugged again. "It ended with both of them dying."

A shiver ran down her spine, and she said, "Oh ... I see ... That doesn't really help much ... now does it?" That made her a little nervous. _He_ wasn't affected at all by her, and yet all these other men were.

"Nope," Luffy shook his head, "which is why I didn't mention it before. On the other hand, it shows that something similar to what you have existed before, or there was something that gave the idea for the story."

"Oh ... well ... I guess that means ... whatever I have ... is rare," she paused for a moment, "That's kinda cool ..."

"Shishi," Luffy laughed and scratched his cheek. "Well, who knows, we might just find out about this."

"Mm, maybe," she said, closing the book with another deep sigh before picking up another one.

Robin placed down her book and picked up the last book. "Last one," she said. "Last chance here."

Looking up at Robin, Nami frowned deeply before looking back down at her book. She really hoped they wouldn't have to visit every library to find out what was wrong with her. What _was_ wrong with her? She really hoped she could find out before something _really_ bad happens …

**To Be Continued …**

**Authors' Note:**

Darth: *Quickly hides his batman comic*

Con: I know you're in there! DX Admit to me, damn it! DX

Darth: I swear it's totally girl on girl on girl, and not the epitome of all slightly neurotic manliness!

Con: 0.o It's all right though. If it's Shanks, I would forgive you.

Darth: Aheheheh. Hmm... This conversation has far too much gay in it. I found some really neat OP mousepads. Robin, Nami and Hancock. With silicon implants where the wrist rests. DAMN THINGS ARE SOLD OUT!!!

Con: *Ignores* Hell, if it were Luffy or Ace or even Garp, I would forgive you.

Darth: NEVER!

Con: AAADDMMIITT IITT!! DX

Darth: If it involves a threesome with either Nami, Nojiko, and whoever the hell you fangirls pair with Garp (wait...she's probably old, never mind. Uhoh...mind is providing a suggestion. Gaaah!!! Resist! NO! GET OUT OF MY HEAD DOCTORINE!!!).

Con: BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! WIN! Anyways, we hope you guys enjoyed this chapter~! ;) h Though, you are probably all sad! D: Ah well, you can't please them all. X3 See you all next chapter~!

Darth: There's no boobs like Hancock's, there's no boobs like Nami's, there's no boobs like Robin's, there's no boobs like Vivi's, there's no boobs like....

Con: Hey, Doctorine has a nice figure, thank you very much, and she has a rack on her. It's the face that's scary. X3 See you all later! XD

Darth: NOOOOOOOOO!


	9. Chapter 9: He Fights Back

**Authors' Note:**

Darth: Huh. Been a while since we did one of these, huh? What happened again?

Con: You fell, hit your head, and lost all your memories, and then I had to build a whole new life for you, in which you were a traveling one man circus. o.o

Darth: I was wondering about the clown shoes.

Con: And you did ask me once why you only saw red...

Darth: Ah yes, I have been getting stared at when I go out into public.

Con: Yes, Buggy would be proud. So, how's that going for you?

Darth: Surprisingly, not being able to split myself in parts and attach blades to those parts doesn't help the intimidation factor I'm going for.

Con: Oh, very sad day for you. I did try. I even offered to cut off some limbs. Offer is still open, you know.

Darth: You see, the thing was, it wasn't the limb cutting that I minded. It was which limb you were offering to cut off.

Con: Oh come on! Don't be a spoilsport! I can assure you it would wow the crowds! Oda says that Buggy could do it, why not you too?

Darth: Buggy can reattach his. -_-

Con: :P

Darth: Also, wasn't there a horror/porno movie kinda like that?

Con: Gee Dart, I wouldn't know. What have _you_ been indulging in? Come on, last chance to take up my offer. It can always been sewn back on. :3

Darth: FRANKEN-DICK!

Con: Not what I had in mind, but it could work. 0.o DUDE! THAT'S A WHOLE NOTHER ATTRACTION!

Ladies and Gentlemen! I present to you... FRANKEN-DICK!

**Charmed**

**Chapter 9: He Fights Back**

Gen looked around at the town as they stepped off the ferry, his deep frown evident under his thick mustache and said, "I hope that little bastard his here. My hands 'r itchin' to feel his neck in them."

"Me first," Nojiko said grimly.

"Ah, I will filet him for you dearest angel~!" Sanji swooned.

"Of course," Nojiko said as she rubbed her forehead. He was starting to wear on her nerves.

"In any case, let's start searching, but I guess we should find a place to stay," Gen said, looking around the place.

xxxx

Nami slammed her book shut. "Mmooh! This is stupid! I want to learn how to control this!" she said, tearing up a bit in frustration. "Well, anyways," she started blinking the tears away, "we should look for jobs too."

"Yeah," Luffy sighed, rubbing his stomach as it growled. Robin looked up from the book she was reading and laughed.

"Well, let's eat and then search for some jobs," Nami said, standing up and stretching out her back, which pushed her breasts over her bodice a bit. Luffy flushed and looked away from Nami's chest. He remembered how they felt from when they slept. So soft...

Giving a deep and heavy sigh, Nami then turned to Robin with a smile and said, "Maybe we can go back to the same place as yesterday."

"Yes," Robin said as she stood up, gathering the books. "They make several good dishes."

"Moh," Luffy whine, also standing up and stretching. "No meat?"

"I can ask if they have meat," Nami said with a snort and her back to him as she headed for the door, but again, she waited for them to follow first.

Robin placed the books back and led Nami out the door as Luffy followed them out. With a heavy and shaky breath, Nami stared at the front doors, looking a bit scared again. Robin walked ahead of them, and Luffy paused behind Nami. "It's alright," he said. "I'll be right behind you."

Nami blinked, looking at him over her shoulder, but then huffed, following Robin and muttered, "Not sure how that's much better."

He chuckled, following after her and said, "I'm not being influenced by your power."

"I never said my power had anything to do with it," she muttered a little more forcefully.

"But you don't have to worry about me losing my mind around you."

"No, but I gotta worry about other things," she muttered a little quieter.

Robin led them down the street back to the noodle shop. It was a different waiter than the last, and he greeted Robin kindly before laying eyes on Nami. His eyes changed to a bit unfocused and he bowed lower. "My lady, to have such a beautiful woman to serve, is indeed a great honor, and my complete and utter pleasure. Please, if there is anything at all that I can do for you, I will do all in my power to do so."

Taking a step back, which she only met with Luffy's front, her lips twitched a bit into a smile, and she said, "J-Just... take us to a table, please?"

Robin kept her expression neutral, though with a slight smile. Luffy stopped directly behind Nami, and glared at the waiter. The incident earlier in the day came back to mind.

"Yes, of course, oh fairest maiden," the man said, straightening out and leading them to a table. He set down the menus, but then went back to Nami and asked, "What would you like to drink, lovely angel?"

"Um," she sighed, deeply, "water... please."

"Yes, of course, and for your friends?" he asked, facing the other two.

"Water," Robin said.

"I'll have the same," Luffy said quickly before the man could leave.

"Yes, of course~!" he said, still offering them a kind smile before turning back to Nami. "I shall retrieve your drinks for you while you decide what to order. If you need anything, fairest angel, just call for me~! My name is Yuri~!"

"Yes, thank you," she said, smiling up at him a little more genuinely. He was actually much nicer than any other man she had come across that she affected. He had even paid attention to Luffy.

Luffy leaned back in his chair and said, "Finally, I actually got to order."

Robin laughed and asked, "You've been ignored before last night?"

Nami couldn't help the giggle that escaped and replied, "Quite a bit. They were... less than pleasant."

"Hmph," Luffy muttered. "The first guy was a real prick about it too."

Nami chuckled and said, "Yeah, he kinda was, but it was hilarious and well worth it to watch."

"You just like watching me suffer," he accused, yet he still smiled.

"Yes I do!" she replied quickly with a grin and another giggle.

"Here are you drinks," he said, placing Nami's down first before placing one in front of Robin and then Luffy last. "Have you decided what you wanted to eat?" he asked, smiling at Nami.

"Mm, I'll let you decide," Nami said, not in the mood to really look.

"Of course, I shall do my best to choose just the right dish for you," he said before turning to Robin. "And for you, ma'am?"

"I'll have the linguini," Robin said, closing the menu.

"Whatever has meat in it," Luffy said.

"Meat?" the man asked, blinking down at Luffy as he took Robin's menu. "Well, we do have some steaks."

"Ooh, some steaks?" Nami asked, leaning forward a bit and resting her chin in her hand. "I'm sure he would like _some_ steaks, right Luffy? A plate full maybe?" she asked, staring right at Luffy, though her eyes were lidded slightly and she had a touch of a smile on her lips.

"A ... f-few ... steaks ... I-I should ... have ... no problem ... with that ..." The waiter rambled as his eyes shifted to her cleavage, but then he turned and rushed off, leaving the rest of the menus.

"Uh...thanks..." Luffy turned away from Nami, trying to hide the flush on his face. He adjusted his legs, shifting in his seat, trying to adjust himself.

Robin just watched them, a smile on her face. Chuckling deeply, Nami leaned back again before picking up her water to take a sip. Luffy, avoiding looking at Nami, picked up a piece of bread and started nibbling at it. Nami shifted her eyes back to him and gave a sly smile. Did she not have any effect on him then? It rather seemed she did. Maybe she could use that to her advantage. She _had_ said she wanted to test it.

Luffy glanced over at Nami, and quickly looked away. He was having a hard time being around her when she was acting all flirty. Luffy junior agreed. A hard time.

After awhile, the waiter came back with Nami and Robin's dish. Nami's dish looked incredibly delicious and well prepared. "The chef offers you the best he has, my lady~! Please, enjoy it!" he said, bowing to her, and then he bowed to Robin. "Enjoy~!" Then he turned to Luffy. "It's going to be awhile preparing so many steaks, but since the lady suggested it, they should be well prepared!" he said, bowing slightly before rushing off.

"Yeah, sure," Luffy muttered after the waiter and watched the women as they started eating their food.

"So," Robin said, casually sexy, because that's how she is, casually, effortlessly sexy, "what kind of jobs were you thinking of taking?"

Nami just shrugged as she took a bite of her food, but then closed her eyes with a moan and said, "Mmm... this... is really good. I'm glad I told him to choose for me." Meanwhile, all the men nearby went into a daze. "Well, anything that isn't too dangerous, but still pays good. No dragons…" she said, narrowing her eyes at Luffy while pointing her fork at him.

Luffy, who'd been glaring at the other men in the restaurant, turned back to look at Nami. "Spoilsport, all we need to do is make sure it's a guy dragon."

"And what difference does it make what gender it is?" she asked, still pointing the fork at him as she quirked a brow.

"Well, your power thingy worked on that ghost in the last town," he grinned. "Maybe it'll work on a dragon?"

"A dragon is much bigger than a ghost!" she yelled, opening her arms up wide, quickly, which made her bust bounce a bit.

His eyes flicked down to her chest, before shooting right back to her face, a light tint of red on his cheeks. "So? If you can control it..." Stars appeared in his eyes, as he realized exactly what he'd said.

She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes further, her fork still aimed at him. "I don't think so. Not gonna happen," she said.

"But-But...controlling a dragon..." Luffy's starry eyes sparkled.

She snorted with her lips pursing further and said, "You're stupid."

"Oh come on," he insisted. "Don't tell me controlling a dragon wouldn't be awesome!"

"Of course no-Well, maybe, but," she said, looking away a bit, but then she sucked her teeth before looking back at him with a frown and said, "Of course not! Not if it's that risky!"

"But we could ride it. It'd be faster than a horse!"

"That would be horrible! I'm not flying on a dragon!" Nami yelled back, looking a bit nervous to the thought.

"But-But..flying..." Luffy pouted, cutely.

Nami's eye twitched to his expression before she huffed and looked away. "Not doing it," she muttered.

"Fiiiine..." Luffy sighed. "How about a griffon?"

"No!" she yelled, turning to frown at him deeper.

"Hippogriff?"

She pursed her lips further and said, "No monster what so ever!"

"How about a unicorn?" Luffy tried again, with a smile.

Nami snorted with her lower lip jutted out and her eyes narrowed as she looked away. "You're so stupid," she said, repeating the insult.

"Is that your way of saying you actually like me?" His smirk was light hearted and joking.

"Hah!" she exclaimed lightly and boredly as she offered him the matching expression. "You'd be dreaming then."

"Maybe," he smiled, "but it would be a nice dream."

Sucking in her breath, her eyes widened as she gaped at him, her cheeks flushing before she quickly replaced her surprise with a frown, but sputtering as she said, "Y-You're stupid! Y-You don't know wha-what're you're even talking about!"

"Don't I?" He grinned, resting his cheek against his fist. He was quite enjoying the turnaround from him being the flustered one.

"Hah!" she exclaimed, pointing at him, though her heart had begun pounding hard in her chest. "You're just doing that because I did it! Well... it's not working!" Liar…

"Isn't it?" He narrowed his eyes, giving a confident smirk.

She ground her teeth before just huffing and looking away. "No, it's not," she said, also crossing her arms under her bust, pushing them upwards.

Luffy's smirk faltered as he glanced down at her cleavage. His face flushed again, and he turned his head away. "Well, you just keep saying that..."

Shifting her eyes to him, she then snorted softly to his flush. "Ooh, what's this? Like that do we?" she asked, resting her arms onto the table, though her breasts were still rested on her arms, which pushed them up even further. However, all the men in the restaurant were also staring at her bust. Some of them, their noses burst forth rivers of blood.

Luffy refused to look at her, only glancing once before looking away determinedly. A small trickle of blood dripped out of his nose. Robin chuckled lightly, watching the two of them flirting. They may not realize that that's what they were doing, but it was quite clear to the dark haired woman.

Nami chuckled in satisfaction to seeing the trickle before sitting up again, ignoring everyone else. After awhile, the waiter finally brought out a heaping plate filled with steaks. "Aah, it's on the house again for you, doll~! Or so our cook says!" he said, beaming at Nami after setting the plate down. "And he offers this complimentary wine~!" he said, setting down a bottle.

"Oh ... thank you," Nami said, smiling up at him and taking the bottle to look at. "Mm, nice," she said before pouring a glass, and then she turned to smile at Robin. "Would you like some?"

"That would be wonderful," Robin said, smiling at Nami.

Luffy ignored Nami and started chowing down on the steaks. He ate one too fast and started coughing, choking on the food. Nami turned pursed lips and narrowed eyes on him. "Idiot, don't eat to fast," she said, moving his water closer to him.

He grabbed the water and swallowed it. "Thank you," he wheezed.

Robin smiled at how obviously Nami did care about the young mage. Huffing, Nami then took a sip of the wine and smiled. "Not bad at all."

"Mmh," Robin agreed. "This ability could be most convenient once you learn to control it."

Nami chuckled a bit, though she looked a little nervous and said, "Yeah, it could be."

After he'd finished his meal, Luffy looked at the wine the women were drinking. "Can I have some of that?" he asked Nami.

Nami pursed her lips and said, "It would be wasted on an idiot like you, and besides, you took away that one bottle from me."

"Oh yeah." Luffy pulled out the bottle from his robe. "This bottle?"

She pursed her lips further. How had she not felt it when she had the robe over her head? Magic maybe? "_Yes_, _that_ bottle," she said, narrowing her eyes into a glare.

"Too bad," he stuck his tongue out at her and made the bottle disappear back into his robes. "I'm saving it for later."

"Hmph!" she exclaimed, looking away and taking another sip. "Not if I can get it first," she muttered under her breath.

"Feel free to reach into my robes anytime you want." He smirked.

Her cheeks flushed, but she refused to look at him and muttered, "Again... you'd be dreaming."

"Would I?" He took the offensive in their little game again.

Robin sipped from her wine, enjoying the new round in their flirting.

"Well," he toyed with the edge of his robe, "it's the only way you're getting your wine back."

She snorted and quickly turned her head away. "We'll see," she muttered and took another sip.

Luffy shrugged and leaned back in his chair, placing his hands behind his head. "Well, we know there's nothing to be found in the library, so we should find some jobs and move on to the next city."

"Right," Nami said, leaning back herself and finishing her dinner. After she was done, she then stood up to leave, waiting for them to follow again.

Luffy, having already finished eating, stood up to follow her, and Robin joined them, watching them closely and keeping an eye on their interaction. Once she was sure they were behind her, Nami opened the door to leave, all the men throwing their farewells to the beautiful, orange haired Goddess~! Luffy glared at the men, keeping close to Nami. Seeing how protective Luffy was with Nami, Robin smiled, and then started heading back to her apartment.

"Mm, should we check for posts now while we're out?" Nami asked, looking from side to side cautiously. She didn't want any of them sneaking up on her. She had no idea how closely Luffy was actually guarding her.

"Yeah," Luffy said and turned to Robin. "Where do we have to go to find job postings?"

"Town Hall is just a few blocks from the library. I can take you there if you want," Robin said.

"That would be great. Thanks, Robin," Nami said, smiling at the other woman.

Robin led them through the winding streets to city hall. Once inside, she directed them to the job listings, and then stood to the side, vaguely watching things.

Luffy looked up at the job postings to see if there was anything appropriate and easy enough for them to handle. Nami looked through them as well, though she had no idea what she was looking for really. Shrugging then, she just let Luffy take a look, looking around at other things instead.

Luffy found one that piqued his interest. "Hey, Nami," he took the paper down, "look at this one."

"Hmm?" she questioned, walking over to him and taking the piece of paper to read it, but then blinked. "A princess?"

"Look at the pay." Luffy pointed at the bottom of the page.

"Ooh! Two thousand~! That-That's more than enough!" she said, beaming happily.

"Heh," Luffy grinned. "With that kind of money, you could rebuild your village, tear it down and build a palace instead."

She pursed her lips slightly and glared at him, but then shrugged. She was too happy to think about tearing anything down. "In any case, it's more than enough for me to take back and rebuild," she said, smiling once again. "Do you think we could do this?"

"Definitely," Luffy replied and looked down at the paper again. "They leave the day after tomorrow, so we can go apply for the job tomorrow."

"Yeah, all right, but shouldn't we go today, just in case someone else tries to take the job?" she asked, frowning slightly. She didn't want to miss this opportunity.

"Good point," Luffy said, and a grin formed on his face. "Of course… if there are too many people applying for the job... I might have a plan."

"Oh?" Nami questioned with an inquisitive brow. What idiotic plan could this idiot have possibly come up with?

"I'll tell you if we need it," Luffy said. He took the paper and showed it to Robin. "Do you know where this is?"

Robin looked at the paper and looked It over. "I think I know where it is, actually it's just a few buildings down."

"Great!" Nami said, clapping her hands together. "Let's get going~!"

Robin led them down to a fairly large mansion with guards stationed at the gates. Luffy walked up to them and handed one the paper. "We're here for the escort job."

"Servant's entrance, around the back." The guard looked at the paper and handed it back to Luffy.

"Oh, right," Luffy led them around to the back door, where another guard escorted them into a small room.

Nami looked up at the guards and tilted her head. Did that mean they were magic users? They seemed completely unaffected by her. Shrugging and rather glad for it, she followed after Luffy to the back entrance. After they were taken into the room, they were left alone. Several minutes passed and nothing happened. No one came for them or anything.

Nami pouted a bit, crossing her arms under her chest and asked, "How long are they going to make us wait?"

"I dunno," Luffy shrugged. Then his eyes narrowed, and he checked the corners of the room. His nostrils flared as he sniffed the air.

Lifting a brow, Nami looked over to him and asked, "Something wrong?"

"Get behind me," Luffy muttered.

Gasping softly, Nami didn't waste any time in doing exactly as he said, clutching to him a bit, but keeping her chest off from him.

A panel in the ceiling crashed, and a masked man came flying at them, sword drawn. Luffy raised his left arm, casting a hardening spell, and blocking the blade. His right hand formed into a blade and the arm stretched, firing the blade at the attacker. The masked man barely managed to dodge the blade, but it still managed to cut the mask off. He had a pale face, with some kind of face paint on it.

Crying out slightly, Nami covered her head, falling to the ground, but then she looked up quickly to what was going on. "Luffy, what's going on!"

Luffy didn't say anything, instead adopting a defensive posture, placing himself between their attacker and Nami. Robin scoffed and crossed her arms. Hands sprouted on their attacker, bending him backwards. The sword dropped from his hands as he gasped in pain. "Perhaps you want to explain your purpose in attacking us?" she asked.

The man started laughing. "Well done." He winced. "You are quite powerful."

Blinking rapidly, Nami gaped at him before surging to her feet, hands on hips and a deep frown and yelled, "You mean to tell me that was a test!"

"Of course," the man winced. "Perhaps," he tried to look at Robin. "I could convince you to let me go?"

Robin smirked. "I might consider it."

"You scared the hell out of me!" Nami exclaimed, baring her teeth slightly before straightening herself out. "But I guess we could let him go ... I really want this job."

"Very well," Robin lowered her arms, and the limbs on the man disappeared.

Once he was freed, the man stood up. "My name is Pell," he said, dusting himself off, picking up his sword and sheathing it. "I am Princess Vivi's body guard. Captain Igaram has asked that all applicants be tested before interviewed. So far only one other has passed the test besides you. If you'll excuse me, I will summon Captain Igaram for the interview."

After the man left, Luffy still hadn't dropped his defensive stance and kept glaring at the door where he'd left. "Haah!" Nami huffed loudly, closing her eyes and crossing her arms under her bust. "So troublesome," she muttered to herself.

The man that came into the room had the largest hair Luffy had ever seen. "Whoa!" Luffy blinked, dropping his guard. "Cool hair."

"What're you impressed for!" Nami yelled, slapping the back of his head and huffing, "Mmooh!" He really pissed her off sometimes. "Now's not the time for your bullshit!"

"Indeed," the man said. "Now is not the time for... bullshit." He sat down behind the table that was between the two doors leading out of the room. "My name is Igaram. I am the Captain of Princess Vivi's guard."

Nami nodded then, crossed her arms and asked, "So, she just needs body guards, right? Where is it that she needs to go?"

"To the Capital Mariejoie." Igaram pulled out some papers from a briefcase he was carrying. "The route has gotten more dangerous of late, and we did not bring enough guards for the journey."

"So all we need to do is beat up anyone that tries to attack the princess?" Luffy asked, punching the air with his fist.

Nami frowned a little deeper as she stepped forward to take the pieces of paper from him and looking them over. "This is... rather far..." she said frowning even more deeply, "I mean ... I guess ... maybe a day or two's ride."

"If there are no delays then we should be on the road for two days," Igaram said. "Now, is the job request for all three of you?"

Nami straightened and looked over at Robin. "Oh, no ... J-Just two."

"Actually," Robin said, "I think I will be coming with you." She looked at Luffy. "Your guild is not too far from Mariejoie, is it not?" Luffy nodded. "I think I would like to see it for myself. I have something of an interest in mage guilds and would like to do some research on it."

"Eh? Really?" Nami asked, gaping at Robin, but then she slowly began to smile, and before long, it was a grin. She then clapped her hands together with a laugh, "Aha! This will make travelling with the idiot so much more bearable!"

"Oi!" Luffy frowned at Nami.

"And what guild is it you belong to?" Igaram asked Luffy, jumping on this new information.

"Ah, Devil's Fist Guild," Luffy said.

Igaram's eyes widened, and then he stood up. "I see. We are quite fortunate to have a Devil's Fist Mage in our employ then."

Nami snorted loudly and very inelegantly as she glanced to the side with narrowed eyes. Luffy stuck his tongue out at her and said, "You're just jealous that I'm famous and you're not."

"No, I just feel sorry for the poor man, that he has no idea what kind of an idiot you are," she retorted with a sigh as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Well, if you'll just sign here." Igaram pulled out three contracts. "You will receive a quarter of the pay upon our departure, and the rest of it once we arrive at Mariejoie."

"Sounds fair," Nami said, approaching the man, but then she pursed her lips, remembering the last time she signed something. She turned and glared at Luffy.

"What?" He looked back at her, confused.

"Nothing," she muttered, grabbing a pen and signing the contract. Luffy took the pen from her once she was done and signed the contract, and then Robin did the same. Taking a deep breath, Nami then looked at Igaram and asked, "Now what?"

"Be ready to depart the morning after tomorrow." Igaram took the contracts and packed them away. "Make any preparations you need to, and come to this room before we depart."

"Right, thanks," Nami said, turning to the other two. "Well, I guess we should get supplies and such."

"Ee," Robin said, "I know of a place we can go."

"All right, well let's go shopping then~!" Nami said, already looking cheery. "You know, I need to buy a new outfit to replace the one that was ruined," she said thoughtfully as she walked out.

"Perhaps something more functional for the journey as well?" Robin suggested, leading the way out.

Nami nodded, heading out with Luffy behind her and said, "Yes, I shall look into it."

Once they were outside, Robin led them to a shopping district, where they could find supplies and clothing, as well as some traveling gear. "Here," Robin led them to a clothing store, "I need to buy some traveling clothes myself."

Nami beamed, going into the store and looking around. "Wow, not bad. These are some nice clothes," she said, going over to a rack filled with different skirts, dresses, blouses and bodices. There were also corseted blouses on another rack.

Luffy looked around. Not finding anything interesting, he decided to just stand to the side, while the woman finished their shopping.

"Ee," Robin said, "I've only been here a few times myself, but the clothes they sell are high quality and very durable."

"Durable is good," Nami replied quietly, her face losing its light as she looked through all the clothes. She chose a corseted blouse and a skirt, but also found a very beautiful red and white dress. "Ooh ... it's so beautiful," she breathed in awe, holding up the dress. "I want to try it on."

"They have some changing rooms over there." Robin gestured to the back of the store. She herself had already picked out several corsets, and some pants and skirt combinations.

"All right," Nami said, smiling once again as she headed for the rooms. Once inside, she dressed quickly and stepped out, twirling once for Robin's benefit, and actually forgetting Luffy was there. "What do you think?" she asked with a bright smile.

"It suits you." Robin turned to look at Luffy. "What do you think, Mage-kun?"

Luffy's mouth was opening and closing, like a fish gasping for air. He flushed and turned away. "It looks fine," he muttered, hardly hearing it over the sound of his own heartbeat.

Nami had turned pursed lips to Luffy, but then blinked and smirked to his reaction. Deciding to take this opportunity, she walked over to him slowly, hips swaying. "Ooh, just fine, is it?" she asked, letting her eyes droop and her lips to soften into the smile of a temptress.

"Yeah, fine..." He adamantly refused to look at her.

"Are you sure?" she purred, her voice sultry. "But you haven't even really looked yet."

Men outside of the store stopped in their tracks, their eyes in an unfocused daze.

Luffy's face didn't move, but his eyes shifted down to look at her. They quickly moved back to where they had been. "Yeah," he gulped. "I'm sure..."

She chuckled deeply from within her throat, the very sound itself oozing sexuality, and then she said, her voice almost husky, "Ooh, then I must have it. Will you give it to me?"

He took a deep breath and looked at her. "Sure," he said, "I can... give it to you." He focused on looking at her face, which he found just as arousing as the rest of her.

Her eyes slid closed a little more and her smile widened just slightly, but then it suddenly turned into a smirk. "Ha! I bet you would, asshole!" she said before whirling around with a haughty laugh. "I'm gonna go change back~!"

Luffy's eyebrows twitched, and he glared at her as she left. "Evil witch," he muttered, so she couldn't hear him.

"I heard that!"

"So what?" Luffy said, a little louder.

Robin laughed. The two of them would make incredibly entertaining traveling partners. Nami's smile was a big one as she entered into the changing room to change back. She didn't know why, but she was happy for some dumb reason.

"Did you find anything you liked?" Robin asked Luffy.

"Nah," Luffy shook his head. "I don't need anything. I've already got the robes I'm wearing."

"I see," Robin smiled, mysteriously, and sexily.

After Nami was changed back, she walked out with a smile, feeling lighter than air as she hummed to herself. Then she went in search of more dresses. After all, with the pay they were getting, she could afford to spend a little extra. She chose a beautiful black dress with red and gold mixed in, and a few pairs of travelling pants like Robin had chosen with more corseted blouses and a few bodices. She also picked out a few more skirts as well and even some new boots. "All right~! I think I'm ready," she suddenly called.

"Finally," Luffy muttered, standing up from where he was lounging.

"I am ready as well," Robin said. "Then let us pay and pick up a few more supplies."

"All right~!" Nami said, bright and cheery as she headed for the cashier to pay.

After they had paid, they left the clothes store, and after picking up some more supplies, they headed for Robin's apartment.

"Haah~! Man, I'm pretty tuckered out, but a little hungry. I bought a few things, and I thought I would give a try at dinner tonight," Nami said, smiling into the bag of groceries.

"You can cook?" Luffy asked, surprised.

She pursed her lips at him and replied pointedly, "Of course I can cook."

"That would be wonderful," Robin said, interrupting another argument.

Nami immediately smiled at Robin. "Great~! she said, walking up the stairs to Robin's apartment.

Robin opened the door and placed their bags on the table. Luffy did the same, pulling some vials of ink and scrolls and notebooks out of his. He then went over to the corner and picked up the book he'd been reading yesterday, and started making notes of the spells that had caught his eye.

Nami went straight into the kitchen and set to work on making their dinner. Despite herself, she'd even bought a few steaks for the idiot. She set down her spices and vegetables and sought out the utensils and things she'd need. Then she chopped, boiled and grilled up all the goods. After a long while, she then took the food out to them at the table.

"I hope you like it," she said, tossing down a plate of steaks and some vegetables for Luffy before setting down a plate in front of Robin. Going back into the kitchen, she grabbed the tea she had bought and some cups, going back out to set those down before going for her own plate and returning, again sitting across from Luffy.

"Hey," Luffy said, "this looks pretty good." He picked up a steak and started eating.

"Thank you very much, Nami-san," Robin smiled at the younger woman.

"You're welcome~!" Nami said, smiling at Robin before kicking Luffy under the table. He didn't even say thanks, and she slaved for him to be eating those steaks.

"Ow," he yelped. "What?"

She turned to purse her lips at him and demanded, "What do you say!"

"Huh?" He blinked at her. "Oh, right, thank you." He turned back to his food.

Her lips instantly curved into a smile then before beginning to eat herself. "Mmm ..."

After finishing dinner, Luffy stretched and yawned.

"Sleepy?" Nami asked, but she didn't look at him.

"Eh," Luffy shrugged, "I'm fine..." He still remembered what happened that morning.

"Good," she said, retrieving all the dishes to take into the kitchen to wash before going back and grabbing the book she'd been studying. She really needed to memorize these incantations, while Luffy went back into the corner to continue making notes.

Instead of reading them aloud, even as a whisper, Nami repeated each incantation in her head, repeatedly before closing her eyes and reciting each to memory. Once Luffy had finished making his notes, he set the book aside and yawned. Nami had the book on her lap and her eyes closed, her lips were softly parted with a completely relaxed face.

Setting his books aside, Luffy then stood up, heading for the bedroom. "I'm going to go lay down," he muttered. As he was walking by, he glanced at Nami and stopped. He was entranced by her peaceful expression, and found himself staring at her. She looked so beautiful, when she was at rest. It was such a change from her usual anger... mostly directed at him.

Robin looked up from the book she was reading, to find Luffy staring at Nami. She smiled to herself at the adoring look on his face. He may have abducted her from her home, but Robin could tell that even if he himself didn't realize it yet, the boy was starting to fall for the orange haired girl.

After a moment, Nami's chest rose and fell with a deep sigh, and she slowly opened her eyes, though she still didn't notice Luffy. Then her lips began to slowly move as they repeated the incantations, though no sound exited so as not to set the spell off.

Luffy blushed as he watched her lips moving, and then he turned away from her, scratching the back of his head, while glancing over his shoulder at her again. After a moment, she looked back down at her book, finally vaguely aware that he was still standing there, so she said without looking, "I'll be there in a minute."

"'Kay" he muttered vaguely, turning back to stare at her, before going to the bedroom.

"Mmm, damn," she muttered, frowning down at the book when she realized she hadn't gotten it quite right. She tried again a few times before sighing and closing the book. Standing up, she stretched luxuriously before going to grab her nightdress, and then heading for the bathroom. After preparing for the night, she then entered the bedroom.

Luffy was lying on the bed, his hands resting behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. He was still thinking about how peaceful Nami had looked just before, and how he wished she could have that expression around him more, instead of being angry all the time.

Going to the other side of the bed, she then just climbed in, not bothering to tell him to turn around. After all, they still seemed to awaken in ridiculous situations in which she had no idea how they got that way. "Come here," she muttered, holding up her arm for him, though she was frowning.

"Eh?" He looked over at her, and stared at her arm, but he did as she asked and moved closer.

She dropped her arm none too gently, and then pressed her bosom into him. "Now go to sleep, stupid," she said, still frowning.

"Oof," he stared at her, and then smiled as his eyes started to close. "Thanks Nami," he said softly and sleepily before he drifted off to sleep.

Nami blinked at this, her cheeks tingeing pink, and then she pouted. "You idiot," she whispered before sighing and closing her eyes for sleep herself.

xxxx

When Luffy woke up the next morning, he tightened his grip around Nami and snuggled his face further into her breasts. Once he realized where his face was, he tried to pull back from her before she woke up, but found that her arms had a death grip on his head, and were keeping his face pressed into her bosom. Her leg was between his, pressing into his morning erection. He swallowed, and tried to get out again, knowing this position would put her in a bad mood, but no luck, she wasn't letting go.

Groaning to the disturbance of her sleep, Nami's face scrunched up into a bit of a frown, but then pulled his head even more into her breasts and sliding her leg more between his, pressing her core right into his erection. Her brow twitched to the sensation that drifted up to the pit of her stomach, and she groaned a little deeper, but frowned deeper as well.

Luffy tensed, groaning as her heat pressed against his erection. He wanted to sob. On the one hand, he was incredibly aroused; on the other, she was going to kill him. He started to pant quietly as the feeling of her pressed against his member became too much to bear.

Her brow twitched again with another groan before her eyes finally fluttered open. "Mmm ... what?" she questioned sleepily before looking down and blinked twice.

"Not my fault," Luffy said from between her breasts.

Gasping and realize everything, where his head was, her arms, his arms, their legs, and last but not least, the erection pressing right into her core, which to her horror was actually responding to the sensation. She screamed, releasing him and jumping out of the bed, though she got caught up in her nightdress and the blankets and instead, fell out of the bed with her nightdress flying up to just under her breasts and revealing her underwear and stomach, not to mention her bare legs.

Luffy's nose started dripping blood as he looked at Nami, prostrate on the ground. On the plus side, it helped divert blood away from his erection. "Need any help?" he asked her.

Screaming again, but with a bit more anger and frustration, she quickly pulled her nightdress down and stood up, but her face was completely flushed red. "No, I do not need your help! Damn it!" she screeched before rushing out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Once she had left, he laughed quietly. Well, this time she definitely couldn't blame him, and if she tried, he could easily call her on it. He climbed out of bed and started getting dressed.

Rushing out, still bright red, she quickly grabbed some clothes, but the fact that she was slightly aroused still made her angry. "Damn it! Damn it! Disgusting little weasel!" she muttered under her breath before going into the bathroom and slamming that door too. A nice hot bath should calm her nerves.

When Luffy left the bedroom, he went to the kitchen, where Robin was making breakfast. "Good morning," she greeted.

"Morning," Luffy said. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Actually, yes," Robin said, gesturing to some plates and dishes. "You can take those to the table for me." Luffy carried the plates of food to the table, and sat down in his spot.

Relaxing in the hot water, Nami slowly smiled, already feeling herself relaxing. Sighing deeply, she pushed the morning's incident to the back of her mind. After washing herself good, still feeling a bit disgusted, she then stepped out, drying herself off, and dressing into her new leather bodice and pants. Looking into the mirror, she couldn't help a smirk. Let's see how the little rubber mage handled this outfit.

Nodding, she then put on the matching knee high boots. The bodice had no sleeves, and didn't travel all the way down, leaving her flat stomach exposed, each article of clothing skin tight. Turning, she got a good look at her own ass before giving it a smack. "Take this, asshole," she muttered before walking out. "This is what I call travelling clothes."

Luffy looked up when he heard Nami coming out of the bathroom. The fork he'd been eating with, not having waited for her to start breakfast, fell out of his hand, and bounced off his plate, falling onto the floor with a loud clatter.

Her lips curled up into a deep smirk as she jutted out her nicely rounded hip with a fist on her. "Ooh, I see you like it. I thought you might, you disgusting little weasel," she said before going to sit down, her buxom bosoms bouncing.

He frowned, his face still flushed, and cleared his throat. "Maybe I like it, but you're the one dressing like that." Don't think about boobs, don't think about boobs, had recently become his mantra.

"What? It's practical and good for travelling, and I can move freely in it," she said and gave him a wink.

Luffy smirked. "Well, you chose it, you put it on, don't blame me if I stare."

"Oooh~!" she said, leaning forward, but this time, she placed the tip of her finger into her mouth a bit as her bust hung low. "Are you going to stare at me, Luffy?"

"If you keep doing that, probably," he said, doing exactly that, then looking up at her face and smirking.

"Hmmm~!" she hummed, smiling a little wider, then she lifted her booted foot, which her leg was crossed over the other to trail up the inside of his leg. "And what're you thinking about, huh?"

He jumped in his chair, and frowned at her, before reverting back to his smirk. "You really want to know, do you?"

Nami burst into laughter and said, "You fail! You reacted first!"

He stuck his tongue out at her. "Fail, huh?" He stretched his leg out so that it wrapped itself around her legs, like a snake.

Gasping, she jumped as well, her chair scooting back a bit. "Luffy! You ...!"

He snapped his leg back into place. "Last laugh goes to me." He snickered.

"That doesn't count!" she exclaimed, scowling at him, but then she stuck out her tongue. "You reacted first!" she said, pushing her boot into his crotch and nearly knocking the chair over.

Luffy gasped and shoved his chair away from the table. His face inflamed and his breathing heavier. "So that's how you want it?" He frowned, his face still red.

"Hmm? Who said I wanted anything?" she asked, her brow quirked as she giggled. "So, who's the last laugh going to?"

He smirked and stretched his arm, grabbing her breast. However, the moment he did it, his eyes unfocused and he fell face down into his food, snoring. Nami squealed, ready to do bodily harm, but once he fell asleep and faceplanted into his food, Nami burst into laughter. "You idiot! God, you're so stupid!" she exclaimed, laughing harder and harder.

Luffy snored, spraying a light dusting of scrambled eggs onto the table. Robin laughed. "Never a dull moment is there?" she asked rhetorically.

Nami slammed her hand down onto the table several times as she continued to laugh. "Oh ... I am so not letting him live this down!"

"Poor mage-kun," Robin giggled. "He tries so hard."

Nami waved her hand in front of her face. "Sure he does! So hard, he puts himself right to sleep!" she said, going into another fit of laughter.

Robin hiccupped, and kept laughing. "Indeed he does."

Luffy snorted and sat straight up, smacking his lips. "I think I got egg in my nose."

This set Nami off into more laughter, holding her bared stomach. "Oh my God! It hurts!" she cried, but she kept laughing.

Luffy pouted at her. "Laugh it up. I'll get you back."

"Sure you will! Oh," she suddenly said, her lips twitching, "do you want to grab my breast again? Come on~! Do it~~!" she said, squeezing them together.

Luffy glared, which turned into a smirk. He stretched his arm, his hand hovering menacingly.

"Ha! I dare you~! That is ... if you _like_ snorting eggs!" she said, smirking back widely.

He grinned widely. "Who said that was what I was aiming for?"

Her brow quirked. "Oh?"

Luffy's hand shot towards her chest, but diverted and moved behind her, to pinch her bottom through the slit in her chair.

Gasping and squealing, she shot out of her chair. "You perverted jerk!" she exclaimed before storming over and slamming a fist down into his head.

"Ow!" He stood up, glaring down at her. "You're the one that started playing footsies with my crotch! Calling the kettle black again, aren't we, Miss Closet Pervert?"

"_Pervert_! A pervert has to enjoy what they do!" Though, she did enjoy it to a sense, but not in the sexual manner. "I don't _enjoy_ touching you, asshole!"

"I dunno," he smirked. "That smirk on your face was telling me otherwise. Pervert."

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about!" she yelled at him, beginning to scowl.

"Don't I?" He tapped her forehead with his finger. "You were holding my head to your chest pretty damn hard this morning; wouldn't let me go in fact."

"That doesn't mean a damned thing!" she yelled back, slapping his hand away, but her cheeks flushed slightly. "You probably buried your face there!"

"Hardly," he scoffed. "After how you always react in the morning? I was trying to get out of there. But nooo... you just didn't want to let go."

"Shut up, you stupid idiot! I'm sure you didn't fight too hard!"

"Of course I wasn't," he said. "I didn't want you waking up and blame me for it again!"

"I'm still blaming you!" she yelled back, getting into his face and scowling deeper. "It's always your fault, just like how you had your disgusting hard on pressed into me, you sick freak!"

"That one was your fault," he advanced, their noses were almost touching. "I know this, because I was awake when you pressed yourself onto it, and still unable to move. Besides," he smirked, "you liked it. You just don't want to admit it."

"Aaugh!" she exclaimed in disgust before shoving him away hard. "In your sick, fucked up dreams, asshole!" she yelled, turning away from him and sitting down. She had to fight a blush that was wanting to force its way up to her cheeks. "Now sit the hell down and eat before I put you to sleep to shut you the fuck up!" she said, shoveling food into her mouth and muttered, "Fucking idiot."

Luffy laughed. "Oh wow, this is so totally worth it. I don't think I've laughed this hard in years." He sat down at the table, and started eating his food again.

"Shut up, asshole!" she exclaimed before putting more into her mouth.

Once he finished his food, Luffy waited for Nami to finish eating. Once he was certain they were all done with breakfast, he started clearing the table. When he took Nami's plate, he leaned close to her, and whispered into her ear, his breath caressing her earlobe. "You better be careful, if you keep calling me names, I might start thinking you're actually interested." He snickered as he stood up and carried the plates to the kitchen.

Shuddering to his whisper, she then clenched her fists and bore her teeth before reacting without thinking. Grabbing a book, she chucked it at his head, hitting dead on, "_Asshole_!"

Luffy shrugged off the blow and kept walking to the kitchen. Arms grew from the floor and caught the book. Robin took it and placed it on the table. "Careful please."

"Aah!" Nami exclaimed, her lips curving up into a crooked smile. Nami flushed a deep red, having forgotten the older woman was there. Quickly turning to her, she held up a hand and said, "I-I'm sorry! I-I just- I-I didn't mean to!"

"You can throw anything else at him, just not the books." Robin looked over at Luffy, who was in the kitchen. "Though I don't think it will do you any good with him"

Nami clenched her teeth down, grinding them a bit and muttered, "Whatever, I'll make him pay somehow."

**To Be Continued…**

**Authors' Note:**

Con: You know, I didn't expect the crowd to scream in horror and run away...

Darth: I blame your writing.

Con: No, I was referring to the circus attraction...

Darth: You wrote the flyers didn't you?

Con: I did... ~,~

Darth: Ahah!

Con: I guess it was my writing. All it said was "Come one, come all! Come and feast your eyes upon the one man wonder... FRANKEN-DICK!" They came at least. I wonder why they screamed and ran away though. So, it couldn't have been my flyers.

Darth: Perhaps we need a smaller Franken-Dick? The massive size may have frightened most of them off. I did notice that most of the crowd were women.

Con: Well, we did stuff it with cotton. A few seemed appreciative, even some of the men. I suppose we could try again? *Ponders*

Darth: Yeah, those guys kinda creeped me out. Why did we let them in?

Con: They were paying customers.

Darth: Oddly enough, they were the ones that didn't run.

Con: Odd indeed... Oh my, we have not mentioned once about this chapter. o.o ... *Picks nose* Can I cut off your head and sew that back on?

Darth: Well, as long as you don't stake me in the chest first. That's right ladies, I'm a vampire.

Con: Sweeeet~! *Pulls out axe* Bend over that there stump. :3 This won't hurt a bit~!

Darth: I live!

Con: And sparkle~!

Darth: I will end you!

Con: Oh, and you have candy inside! *U*

Darth: All I have in me is the blood of my victims!

Con: Then you must have sucked some poor piñata dry... Poor piñata... You will be mourned... *Eats candy*

Darth: Hey, put that back!


	10. Chapter 10: They Bicker

**Authors' Note:**

Con: I like how a rock band can occasionally set aside their loud guitars and screeching voices and banging drums to produce something beautiful... Kinda like how Steve Tyler managed to produce Liv...

Darth: I think banging was instrumental in that one.

Con: *Snort* He's not a pretty man, you know...

Darth: Besides, I like Rock music.

Con: As do I, but I also enjoy _beautiful_ music. I'm a sucker for beautiful voices and soft sounds. *Shrugs*

Darth: Meh, that music bores me.

Con: Your face bores me...

Darth: So...what does this have to do with anything?

Con: Not a thing. Just making conversation, but geez, if you really insist on talking about boobies, I suppose I can do that.

Darth: Well, are boobies involved in this chapter?

Con: Of course, boobies are involved with this whole damned story, and apparently, so is Luffy's wood.

Darth: Heh. Wood.

Con: Wood, indeed.

Darth: Indeed.

Con: ... I'm bored.

Darth: Are you?

Con: I am... Let's get on with the story, shall we?

Darth: Sure. Maybe one day I'll actually read it.

Con: *Snort*

**Charmed**

**Chapter 10: They Bicker**

The day passed uneventfully and after dinner Luffy had stripped his robe and shirt off and was laying on the bed, just resting.

Nami came into the room in her nightdress and looked over at him, but froze on the spot with a quick blink. He wasn't wearing a shirt. She had to admit, this was the first time seeing him shirtless, and what she saw was a bit shocking. His pecs came out a bit in hard muscles and the dips and ridges of his abs formed into a very nice six pack. Clearing her throat quietly, she then went over to the bed and climbed into it.

Luffy glanced over at her, and moved over to make room for her in the bed. He didn't think he'd ever get enough of that nightgown she wore. It was very clingy in all the right places, and almost transparent in others. At the very least, it showed off her body perfectly.

Sighing deeply once she was lying down in the bed, she then frowned and turned to look at him. "Waking up to you in the morning is a real pain in my ass..."

"You waking up to me is an even bigger pain in the ass," Luffy said. "But maybe we'll get lucky and wake up normal this time."

"We'll see," she muttered before turning onto her side and opening her arms up to him. "Now hurry up and come here. I'm tired."

"Sure," Luffy said as he turned around so his back was to her, and slid into her arms, till her chest was touching his back. "Night," he yawned.

"Mm," she hummed, not really answering him, but sighed, pressing more into his back as she closed her eyes for sleep.

Luffy was asleep seconds later.

xxxx

The next morning, Nami woke up with a groan and blinked her eyes open, but then she groaned again, expecting the worst. However, she blinked a few times when she saw that Luffy's back was still turned to her and everything was normal. "Huh," she said before carefully slipping away from him to go to the bathroom. However, as she was walking around, she slipped on the blanket that was hanging off the bed and onto the floor. She tried to right herself, but lost more balance, falling into the bed and right onto Luffy, who had turned onto his back when she left.

She came down hard and inelegantly, but was good otherwise. Slowly opening her eyes, however, she then gasped and her eyes widened as well as her cheeks flushing when she came face to face... very close up... to his very large morning wood, "Aaah..."

"Ack, what?" Luffy sat up in bed, looking around, disoriented. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked down at Nami, whose face was practically in his crotch. "Uh..."

Gasping and burning bright red, she held out her palms. "I slipped!" she said before running out of the door. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed, slamming the bathroom door shut.

Luffy was left, his mouth gaping, staring at the bedroom door. His mouth twitched, a grin slowly forming on his face. He knew one thing for sure. She wasn't going to be forgetting about this any time soon.

After changing back into the red leather and doing all she needed to do, she reluctantly left the bathroom with a deep and annoyed frown on her face as well as a slight blush. "Damn it..."

Luffy decided that he hadn't washed in a while, so he'd better take care of that before they left for Mariejoie. Besides, everything had been packed yesterday, and all they had to do was eat breakfast and be at the manor before the convoy left. There was plenty of time for a quick wash. He left the room, without putting his shirt or robe on. No point in doing that, if he was just going to take them off in the bathroom. He came to the bathroom door, just as Nami was leaving it.

Gasping, Nami quickly looked up at him, the blush deepened before she looked away with a deep frown and muttered, "You're disgusting."

"Says the girl who dove face-first into my lap." Luffy danced around her and into the bathroom, laughing as he closed the door. Once inside, he stripped off his pants and started giving himself a sponge bath.

"I did not dive, asshole! I slipped on the blanket!" she yelled at the door, tempted to kick it, but she had to remember it wasn't her house. So instead, she huffed and stormed over to the main room. Robin walked out of the kitchen, carrying several plates of food. When she saw Nami, she raised an eyebrow, while her small smile showed amusement.

"It's not funny!" Nami said, plopping down into a chair. "And I don't want to talk about it!" Robin said nothing, keeping her smile as she set the table.

Luffy, having finished his wash, left the bathroom. He headed back for the bedroom, but noticing that breakfast was on the table, diverted for the food instead. Looking over towards Luffy with a deep and angry frown, Nami then blinked, her face flushing at his bare chest before looking away quickly, even more upset. Robin glanced at Luffy, looking over his body as he sat in his usual spot and began eating. Not bad, a little on the skinny side, not really her type, but still not bad.

"Can't you put a shirt on first before you eat?" Nami said, glaring at him from across the table.

Luffy looked up at her and said, "But that would waste valuable eating time."

"Ugh," she scoffed in disgust before beginning to eat. "Jackass..."

After finishing breakfast, Luffy leaned back in his chair and stretched. "Ah, that was good," he patted his still rock hard stomach. "Thanks, Robin."

"You're welcome," Robin said, chuckling at his behavior.

Nami's lips pursed, though her eyes trailed down as he patted his tight and solid six pack, but then quickly looked away. "Now go get dressed so we can go, idiot..."

"Right, right." Luffy stood up from the table, and went to the bedroom to put on the rest of his clothes. Once he had done so, he cast a quick spell to make the bed, not wanting to do it on his own.

Nami snorted after he left, beginning to gather the plates to take and wash before going to get her things ready. Looking up at Robin, she asked, "May I take this with me? I'd like to keep reading it," she asked, holding up the book she had been learning incantations from.

"Of course," Robin said, "it won't do any good just lying around here. Just be careful with it. And be sure to put it out of reach next time you get angry at mage-kun."

"Ah... right," Nami said, her face flushing a bit as she put it into her bag carefully. "Thanks..."

Luffy gathered up what was left of his luggage and went into the main room. "Are we ready to go?" he asked the other two.

"Yes," Nami replied, throwing her now heavier pack over her shoulder, which pushed up her bodice, squeezing her breasts up and revealing more of her flat stomach and the soft, dipped line running from her belly button up to her valley.

Luffy was grateful that his robes covered his now renewed erection. If she was trying to drive him to distraction, she was succeeding. "I am also ready," Robin said. She had her new traveling clothes on, the corset and pants with a loose shirt covering her legs.

"Well, let's go then," Nami said, heading for the door, revealing her round and ample ass with the leather skin tight to her body as she opened the door and walked out.

Luffy and Robin followed Nami out the door, Luffy staring at Nami's ass, Robin turning around to lock the door behind her, and activating the security enchantments on her home. She didn't know when she would return to it, but she had made sure it would be well protected. The enchantments in place could only be broken by a very high level mage. Robin then took the lead, guiding them to the manor from which the Princess' convoy was leaving.

Nami sighed deeply as she walked, looking around carefully and frowning at the gaping stares she was receiving. Luffy walked behind the two women, keeping a wary eye out for trouble. There was no incident as they made their way to the location, and went to the back entrance, where they were greeted by Pell, the man who had tested them the other day.

"You're on time," he said. "That's good. Please, follow me." He led them through the room and into a courtyard, where several soldiers were assembled, and several pack animals and carriages were being loaded.

Licking her lips, feeling a bit anxious with all the body guards, she was beginning to wonder about this mission. Would they really run into that big of trouble? Luffy looked around, most of the other people were soldiers, except for one other man; a warrior by the looks of him. On his back he carried a large great sword, and at his side a total of three curved exotic looking blades. The strangest part about him was his hair, which was a faded green color.

Nami looked at all the men, one of them sticking out, mainly because of his green hair and four swords. "I guess... he's the other guy Pell was talking about," Nami whispered to the two.

"Yeah," Luffy replied and nodded. He walked over to the man and held out his hand. "Yo, my name's Luffy."

Quirking his brow, Zoro looked down at the slightly smaller and lanky man. "Hey... Roronoa Zoro," he said, but took his hand to shake anyway.

"You the other guy they hired?" Luffy asked the larger man.

"Well, I'm here, ain't I?" he said before yawning. "So early too," he mumbled, looking like he was ready to fall asleep.

"Oi, oi," Luffy laughed, "I don't think they'll like you falling asleep on the job."

"I'll be all right," Zoro muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

Pell reappeared in the courtyard, followed by Igaram, and a group of four soldiers, in a defensive formation around a young woman. "Mm?" Nami hummed, turning to look at the guards and the girl. "Eh? I guess that's her," she said to Robin quietly.

"I think so," Robin said and nodded, watching the young girl, who appeared to be about the same age as Nami.

"Eh?" Luffy said to Zoro, in a voice just a little too loud. "Is that the princess?"

"Looks like," Zoro replied, just as loudly as he stretched his arms out. "Well, let's get this party started then," he said with a smirk. "Hope we get some pretty decent action," he continued as he removed one of his sword, running a hand over it, but not touching it, and the blade shimmered for a split second with the magic that was enchanting it.

"Well, time to go it seems," Nami said with a sigh as she approached Luffy and the green haired man.

"Oh, hey, Nami, Robin," Luffy called over to them. "This is Zoro. He's the other guy they hired."

Robin nodded to the green haired man. "Swordsman-san."

Zoro's brow shot up to the beautiful women before his eyes shifted to the black haired woman, who spoke up first. "Hey..."

"Hello, I'm Nami," Nami said, giving the swordsmen a smile.

"Hey," he said before looking at Luffy. Why was he travelling with women? Weren't they trouble?

Luffy looked from Zoro to Nami. '_Strange... why isn't he being affected by her... whatever it was_...?'

Yawning again, Zoro then turned towards the caravan and said, "Well, let's go. Let's do a good job together and whatever."

"Looks like swordsman-san has the opposite problem of mage-kun," Robin whispered to Nami after Zoro yawned.

"Opposite?" Nami asked, turning to blink at Robin in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"He looks like he's about to pass out," Robin chuckled.

"Oh!" Nami said with a giggle. "Maybe he's cursed too!"

"Perhaps," Robin toyed with her lips. "I wonder what it takes to keep him awake?"

"Mm?" Nami asked, a frozen smile on her lips as she blinked once. Was Robin interested in the green haired man?

Robin looked at Nami. "Eh?"

"Ah, nothing!" Nami said, shaking her head fast as she held up her palms and laughed nervously.

"Say," Luffy asked Zoro. "You don't feel inclined to act... weird... do you?"

"Act weird?" Zoro asked, lifting an inquisitive brow. "What kinda weird? What're you talkin' about?"

"Well," Luffy tried to think of how to phrase it, "you don't feel inclined to give her anything, or do anything she wants, do you?" He gestured at Nami with his head.

Zoro's brow lifted further as his head slowly lulled to the side and said, "You got something for her? I promise not to crush on her or anything... Women are troublesome..."

"No, no, no," Luffy shook his head, his voice rising. "You got it completely wrong!"

Zoro stared at Luffy for awhile, then after awhile blinked once and said, "You sure... 'cuz I lied. She's really pretty."

"Hah," Luffy laughed. "It wouldn't be worth your time. She's really mean," he muttered the last bit.

"Hmm," Zoro hummed, staring down at Luffy as if assessing him before turning his back with a yawn. He didn't want any trouble from him. "Well, whatever..."

xxxx

The first day passed uneventfully, and soon the time was approaching to set up camp. Luffy climbed down from the horse that was provided for him, as around him preparations for the evening were being made.

Looking over at Luffy, Nami became a bit thoughtful before perking and asked, "Luffy, whatever happened to your horse?"

Luffy froze, looked at the horse that he was riding, and then at Nami. "Oh..."

Nami stared down at him before finally blinking once, but then continued to stare at him and asked, "You forgot about it?"

"Yeah... I did..." He started rummaging in his robes.

"You... are an idiot. How could you forget about your horse!" she yelled, causing many heads to turn towards them. Zoro's brow lifted up again. He could see what Luffy could have meant about her being mean.

"I just misplaced him for a bit, gimme a sec," Luffy said and pulled out various items, tossing some of them on the ground, not finding the one he wanted.

Robin hadn't even known he owned a horse. It must have disappeared right after they came to the library. She noticed the tell tale signs of another argument between the two. She went over to the swordsman. "This might be interesting," she commented.

"What'a ya mean?" Zoro asked, looking up at the woman from his place up against the tree.

"They... like to bicker a lot," Robin replied and smiled at Zoro, sexily.

"Oh?" Zoro asked, his other brow rising to her beautiful smile. Did that weird feeling apply to this woman as well?

"They have a very... complicated relationship," Robin said.

"Aah, I see... Anything that has to do with a woman is complicated," Zoro said, yawning widely as a single tear bungeed from his eye in his weariness.

"Oh?" Robin said, her eyebrows rising at the green haired man's comment.

"S'right," Zoro said-that was his story, and he was sticking to it.

"Perhaps," Robin leaned closer to Zoro, "I can change your mind in that aspect?"

"Eh?" Zoro asked, peeking an eye open as he looked back up at the woman. He hadn't pegged her as the forward type.

Robin laughed softly and leaned back. "Perhaps we can talk later," she said and went to begin setting up her tent.

Zoro's brow went up further as did his interest. "Later, huh...?" He questioned quietly to himself.

"_Misplaced_ him! Luffy... how could you-! It's an animal, you know! Living... breathing... and you _forgot_ about him! It's been days, Luffy! What if he starved to death!" However, she hadn't given the horse any thought either, but it was still his animal.

"He'll be fine," Luffy muttered. "Ah-HAH!" He pulled out a thin rod form his robe.

"He'll be _fine_! What if someone picked him up, Luffy, thinking he was abandoned! You are the worst owner ever!" Nami yelled down at him, pressing her fists into her hips. Luffy placed the rod to his lips and blew into it. Nothing happened. No sound. Nothing. "What the hell is that!" Nami yelled, narrowing her eyes.

"You'll see," Luffy said as he put it back in his robe and started gathering up the items he had dropped on the ground.

"I'll _see_! And how long is that supposed to take!" Nami asked, crossing her arms under her bust.

"About now," Luffy said, putting the last of his items away and checking the ground for any he missed. In the distance, a speck was moving and growing closer.

Blinking a bit, Nami then just frowned deeply and asked, "About now, _what_!" Luffy pointed at the speck, which was growing even closer. Letting her brows go further down, Nami then looked where he'd pointed, her eyes widening and asked, "Wha-What is that?"

"That," Luffy said as the shape came close enough to be recognized as a horse, "is you owing me an apology."

"I don't owe you shit! You still forgot about him!" she said, whirling around, her braid whipping out and smacking Luffy as she stormed off, her breasts bouncing to her angry walk.

"I only forgot for a little while. He can take care of himself," Luffy followed after Nami. "Besides, this isn't the first time I've left him behind, and he's come back when I called."

"Yeah? Like the time he ran away from you when you first kidnapped me!" she yelled over her shoulder, making a few heads and brows to perk up. "Yeah... I can tell he _really_ likes his master!"

And they were _still_ going at it. Interesting indeed. Zoro crossed his arms behind his head and just watched, but his brow also went up to her mentioning that he'd kidnapped her.

"He's a stubborn animal, but he always comes back in the end... most of the time," Luffy insisted, "and would you mind not bringing that up?"

"Why not?" she asked, smirking at him evilly over her shoulder. "Afraid I'd make them wish they did a better background check on you?"

"A whatnow?" Luffy blinked, and then shook his head. "Do you not want to get paid or something?"

She snorted and said, "Don't worry about it. It's not like I act like someone who's been kidnapped anyways, so relax." Then she turned to the men watching them with avid interest. "What're you all lookin' at?"

They all quickly turned away, beginning to converse in random conversations about weather and recent jobs. Zoro's lips quirked up into a smirk. The woman had guts, spirit and fire. He could see what the mage had been saying.

"You got that right," Luffy muttered. He jumped a bit as his horse nudged him in the back. "Oh, there you are, boy."

Luffy pulled out a slightly wrinkled apple from his robe and held it out for his horse to eat. The animal gobbled it up in a bite, and nuzzled Luffy's face. Luffy glanced around at all the men who were suddenly doing something else. She really didn't even need whatever ability it was that gave her control over most men. She did just fine on her own. A few of them glanced back at the beautiful and fiery woman, their faces flushing slightly as they whispered amongst themselves.

Sighing, Nami went to sit down beside Robin and muttered, "He's such an idiot..."

"Well," Robin said, "the horse seems to disagree." Luffy's horse nudged him several times, while Luffy just patted his head, and finally the horse tried to take a bite out of Luffy's hair. "I think..."

Nami's brow quirked up, but then her lips twitched, finding it amusing as an unwilling giggle escaped her lips. "Maybe a little too much... Maybe he'll eat him and all my problems will go away," she said with another giggle.

Robin laughed and said, "Are you quite sure of that?"

Luffy was batting the animal's head away, while searching for another treat to feed it. The horse kept insisting, and tugging at his robe, and hair. "Damn it, calm down, you stupid animal."

Nami giggled again, just imaging the thought, perhaps enjoying that a bit too much and said, "Ooooh, I'm sure."

"We'll see," Robin giggled, watching as Luffy started running away from his horse, while digging through his pockets frantically.

Nami burst into laughter then. "Run, idiot, run! He's gaining on you! Oooh!" she said, as the horse tackled him to the ground. "Nice~! Score one for the horse!"

"No, stop it you dumb animal," Luffy tried to push it off him. "Go after her," he pointed at Nami. "She has melons!" The horse, as if it understood what he was saying, looked up at Nami.

Nami's eyes widened, and she stiffened a bit. "Luffy, you asshole! Don't sick your gay horse on me!"

Luffy stood up as his horse started stalking towards Nami. "Careful, he can understand most of what we say."

Nami scowled at Luffy before turning a dangerous glare onto the animal. "Is that right? Come any closer, and I swear I'll make a stew out of you," she said, her lips slowly curving into a nasty smirk full of warning. Even a few men watching the spectacle shuddered.

The horse stalked closer, testing the waters.

Nami stood up, taking a few steps towards the horse, tilting her chin up as her smirk widened and turned more menacing and her eyes sparkled. "I could feed everyone here with how much meat you have on you, and I happened to buy a few vegetables that taste great with horse meat."

The horse stared down at Nami, then snorted and walked away. Nami chuckled before looking at Luffy with her smirk, and sticking her tongue out at him, causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow. Then one side of Luffy's lips quirked up. The horse nuzzled Nami's back, suddenly behind her. Gasping, Nami stiffened and quickly whirled around to see the horse behind her. It had been right in front of her, even if it had walked away. How did it get behind her!

The horse snickered, its point proven. Then it walked over to Luffy, standing behind him and shivering slightly as it glanced at Nami.

Nami snorted loudly to horse and master and said, "Your horse is just as much of an idiot as you are."

"You're just a very scary woman," Luffy said and stuck his tongue out at her, reaching back to pet his horse's nose.

"Good! I'm glad you think I'm scary, asshole!" she yelled, scowling at him.

"Scary, and cruel to animals." He hugged his horse's neck, who nibbled at his ear. "Isn't that right, Merry? Stop that..."

Nami snorted loudly and asked, "Your horses name is... Merry?" Then burst into laughter. "And I am not cruel, at all. Look," she said, kneeling in front of her bag to remove a carrot. "Here, _Merry_. Have a carrot~!" she said, giving the horse a wink.

Luffy scoffed. "Please, as if that would—Hey, get back here!" Merry waltzed over to Nami, snatching at the carrot.

Nami pulled her hand back immediately to the snatch. "Ah, ah, ah~!" she said, holding it over her shoulder while shaking a finger at him. "No snatching. Nice and slow," she said, holding out the carrot again. A few men chuckled, finding the two's bickering to be quite amusing. At least they were unintentionally providing entertainment for the camp.

Merry nibbled at the carrot, finally taking it into his mouth. Luffy muttered and dug into his robe, pulling out a few cubes of sugar. He put his fingers to his lips and whistled. "Here boy," he said and held his hand with the sugars out. Merry turned around, saw the sugars, and started heading back to Luffy.

Nami quirked a brow before quickly ducking down and snatched out a pear. "Oooh, Merry~! I have a pear~! It's just as sweet as sugar, but you get more out of it~!" she said, waving the pear a bit. The men burst out into full blown laughter now. These two were great!

Merry stopped between the two, looking back and forth. After several moments of looking back and forth he disappeared, as well as the pear and sugar from Luffy and Nami's hands. Merry reappeared and trotted off, as if saying, "Leave me out of this."

Nami pouted and muttered, "Stupid horse..."

"Traitor," Luffy muttered at the same time.

The men were guffawing now and slapping their knees. Snorting and just barely noticing the laughter, Nami turned her glare on them. "What're you laughing at!" she yelled, causing the laughter to cease as they turned to one another, a few throats clearing.

Zoro's lips curved up on one side into a smirk. Pretty funny... He yawned then, closing his eyes to sleep. Luffy sighed. "I'm hungry," he muttered, walking over to his bag to look for something to eat.

"I'll make us something," Nami muttered with a sigh before digging around in her bag. "Set up a pit for me..."

"'Kay," Luffy said as his hand morphed into a metal shovel head, which he used to dig up a pit. Once he'd finished, he started building a fire, using his limited fire casting ability to light it. "Done," he said, looking over at Nami.

"Good, now chop these for me," she said, tossing a few potatoes over her shoulder without looking, though her aim was dead on for him as she handled other things.

Luffy's fingers sharpened with the in-curve turning into blades. He swiped at the potatoes, cutting them into little cubes, catching them with his robe. "Now what?"

"Drop 'em in here," she said, holding up a pot, still not looking up at him. The men grinned. They worked well together, even if they bickered.

"'Kay." Luffy did as she told him and sat back. "Now what?"

Robin, who had set her tent up near theirs, came over, and watched Nami and Luffy working together. Her thoughts were similar to those of the men, though hers was not a recent revelation.

"Here, chop this meat I brought... and I... will make water," she said the last part quietly, handing him the meat before standing with the pot.

Closing her eyes, she brought her index finger and middle finger to her lips, curling up the rest of her fingers. After awhile of concentrating, she uttered an incantation and held out the pot, pointing her fingers into the air. A small rain cloud appeared just where the tips of her fingers were pointing. A very puny thunder rumbled as rain poured from the cloud into the pot.

"Ah ha~!" she exclaimed with a massive and pleased grin. "It worked!"

"Neat." Luffy whistled, impressed. He tossed the meat into the air, changed his fingers to knives again, and cut the meat in the same fashion as cutting the potatoes. The chunks of meat fell into the pot.

Robin smiled. Nami was making incredible progress to be able to summon a rain cloud so soon. The men all blinked at the tiny rain cloud and then smiled at the beautiful girl's smile. It was incredibly cute. After the pot was filled enough, Nami uttered another shorter incantation before swiping her fingers to the side, and the rain cloud vanished. Beaming happily, she then put the pot over the fire to boil.

Luffy smiled at Nami. "That was amazing. You got that far so soon?" He didn't visibly react to her cuteness, but he still thought she was incredibly cute.

She grinned and snickered. "Actually, that was my first try~!"

Luffy whistled again. "Impressive," he said and glanced at the food, slowly starting to heat up.

"Mm!" she hummed gleefully with a nod, and then she began to stir up the meat and vegetables, making a stew.

Luffy squatted down by the fire pit, watching Nami cook their dinner. Sitting back, she grabbed her braid, pulling it to the front and beginning to slowly undo it. Then she combed her fingers through it, beginning to hum again. All the men blinked, turning to look at her and listen. Luffy rocked back and forth, listening to Nami's humming as well.

Robin looked up from a book she'd been reading, and watched Nami as she hummed. She looked around, seeing how most of the people were watching her. However, she looked back at Nami and frowned softly as she really paid attention. She could feel it, the power drawing into Nami. The humming?

Cracking open an eye, Zoro looked over at Nami. He could feel something strange too, and it was coming from the girl. What was with the humming? There was something eerie about it.

Nami gazed at the flickering fire, the flames reflecting in her warm, brown eyes as a small smile appeared on her lips. She didn't seem at all aware that she had an audience, nor that people were even around. She was in her own world with just her in it.

Luffy leaned back onto his hands, watching Nami. She didn't seem to be aware of what she was doing. He felt his heart constrict, just watching her was painful, deliciously so. Robin then turned to look at Luffy. The young mage's heart was showing in his eyes.

After a moment, Nami stopped a blinked in question. "Mmm?" Then she looked up at Luffy, blinking again before looking behind her to the completely silent men who were all watching her. She blinked a third time as a flushed took over her cheeks, and then she turned back to Luffy. "Why's everyone looking at me?" she asked, looking over at Robin then. "I got something on me?"

Robin shook her head. "You were humming again," Luffy said, looking straight at her.

Sucking in her breath a bit, she turned to look back at Luffy. "I was... what?"

"Humming," Luffy repeated, tilting his head slightly. "You've been doing it a few times."

"I—" she cut herself off, staring at him before looking to Robin for confirmation.

"Ee," Robin nodded, "it was a very nice tune."

Nami just gaped at Robin for a very long time. "I... but... when... I..." she stuttered, not knowing what to say.

"You have a nice voice. Don't see why that would be a problem," Luffy said and shrugged.

"W-W-W—" she stuttered as she frowned, her cheeks reddening further. "It's embarrassing," she finally said, shifting her eyes around a bit, her lips sticking out slightly in a cute purse.

She really was incredibly cute when she was in this mood. He glanced at her lips, wondering what they would taste like against his. It surprised him that she was this self-conscious, when she was normally so assertive. "Well, I could tell you when you start doing it again?" Luffy said, still staring right at her, but he straightened out his head.

Shifting her eyes to his, her cheeks flushed further as did her lips jut out a bit more, and she muttered, "F-Fine."

"'Kay," Luffy said, glancing away from her and flushing himself.

"Right..." she muttered, beginning to stir the stew again.

"Hmm," Zoro hummed to himself. So then, they did like each other... somewhat...

Yawning, Luffy flopped back onto his back, resting his hands behind his head and looked up into the sky. After the meat was cooked and the vegetables were soft, Nami said, "Grab the bowls out of my pack."

"'Kay." Luffy sat up and crawled over to the pack, pulling out three bowls from Nami's pack, and walking over to her with them.

Filling the spoon with stew, she took a bowl from him and filled it, holding it out to Robin. "Here you are, Robin."

"Thank you," Robin said, taking the bowl from Nami. She took a sip from the broth. "Mmm, it's good."

"Is it? I'm glad," Nami said with a smile before filling up another bowl. "Here," she said, handing it to Luffy.

"Thanks." Luffy drank some of the broth and fished out some pieces of meat and potato. "Mmm…"

Filling her own bowl then, she smiled wider before beginning to eat it. It had come out really good. Once Luffy had finished eating, he held out his bowl. "Seconds?"

"Yeah, yeah," she said, setting her bowl into her lap before taking his and refilling it, and then she handed it back to him. "Here..."

"Thanks," he murmured. Once he'd finished he set the bowl on the ground and leaned back, stretching.

"Mm," she hummed in response as she continued to eat. Once she was done, she took Robin's bowl, pressed her middle and index fingers to her lips before resummoning the little rain cloud to wash all the bowls.

"Convenient," Luffy said, after the bowls were cleaned.

"Yup~! I'll never be without water!" she said, swiping her fingers to the side after saying her shorter incantation and dried out the bowls before placing them back into the bag.

"I wonder if we're meant to take part in keeping watch, or if the soldiers will take care of that?" Luffy frowned, looking around, but no one was approaching them.

"Mm, she had a ton of guards watching her though. As long as we're close by in case anything happens, it should be fine," Nami said, dusting her hands together as she looked out towards the others.

"Yeah." Luffy yawned again, longer this time, his eyes watered a little after it.

"You're already tired?" she asked sounding a bit annoyed as she turned to him.

"It's getting dark," he said and shrugged, scratching his head.

"So, you automatically just get sleepy when it's dark?" she asked, lifting a brow to him.

"I still have a lot of sleep to catch up on," he said. "It's not like I can help it."

"Oi, you even argue about when the man goes to sleep?" one of the men asked, all of them beginning to chuckle.

"Just let the man sleep," another one chimed in.

"It's not like you have to go to sleep too," another said, and they all laughed.

Nami crossed her arms under her bust with a deep frown and a flush to her cheeks. "Ah-heheheh," Luffy laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "Actually, I'm not that tired right now..." Maybe if they waited long enough more people would be asleep, and they wouldn't see them getting into the same tent.

"Eeh! You letting the little lady intimidate you!"

"Go on! Go to sleep!"

"Yeah, why are you letting such a little bit of a thing control you~!"

Nami began to growl, her cheeks flushing deeper.

"It's fine, really," Luffy insisted. "I can stay up a little later."

"Aah! She's got him whipped! You see that!" one yelled as he pointed at Luffy.

Huffing, Nami whirled around, turning her back to the nonsense before plopping back down onto her log.

Well, thought Luffy, at least they'll never believe her when she says I kidnapped her... even though it's true. He laughed nervously again and sat down, looking into the smoldering fire.

Nami pursed her lips, shifting her glare onto him and muttered, "Idiot..."

"What?" He turned to glare at her as well.

"Had to open your mouth!" she hissed under her breath at him

"What? I was tired," he muttered in return and pursed his lips at her.

"Ugh! But think, you idiot!" she hissed, giving the men a glance. They were still chortling and giving the two amused glances.

He leaned back and plopped onto the ground, looking up at the stars. "Whatever. It's too nice a night. I don't feel like arguing."

She snorted and said, "Yeah? Well, you're still an idiot."

"And you're still a mean lady." He yawned, looking up at the stars and mapping out constellations... or at least trying to. "Good to know everything is still normal."

"Yeah, right... Asshole," she muttered under her breath, poking at the fire with a stick. She hoped the men would all go to sleep before they had to.

"Witch," he muttered, not really caring if she heard him.

"Prick..."

Luffy held up his hand and used it to imitate a blabbering mouth.

She kicked dirt onto him.

He flicked a grass clod onto her, using his magic.

Growling, she pressed her index finger and middle finger to her lips, muttered a fast incantation before pointing her fingers over Luffy. A small rain cloud appeared, pouring water all over Luffy. However, she felt herself growing more tired. Perhaps three at once was a bit much. It was draining her slightly.

"Ack!" Luffy stood up, crawled over to her, and shook the water out of his head and robe and onto her. Much like a dog…

"Gaah!" she screamed, the men laughing once again.

"These two never stopped! It's hilarious!"

"You mutt!" she yelled before lifting a leg and shoving him away hard with her booted foot. "Get away from me!"

"Your own fault," he laughed, rolling with the kick and sitting cross-legged.

"Shut up!" she yelled while pointing at him, "You stay over there!"

"You sure that makes any difference," he said, stretching his arms.

"Don't look at me either!" she said with a huff and swiveling to the side and crossing her arms. "Or that!"

"You two act like an old married couple," Robin commented, looking up from the book she was reading by the light of a glowing crystal she had attached to the cover.

"Eeeh!" Nami exclaimed and even paled. "Are you out of your mind!"

However, the men seemed to find Robin's comment very amusing and so laughed harder. "Perhaps." Robin smiled, looking back down at her book.

Luffy paled and said, "If this is what married couples act like, then I don't see why people ever get married."

"Old married couples _don't_ act like this! They cuddle and take long walks on the beach!" she said, though her words made her blush. "Robin's just talking crazy!"

"I dunno," one of the men said. "My grandparents were pretty goofy their last few years. Always picking on each other, playing pranks... arguing..."

Luffy looked between Nami, Robin and the man who'd spoken. "You're all crazy."

"I'm not crazy! But they definitely are! We're not like an old married couple!" Nami yelled, getting angrier and angrier, a slight thunder rumbling in the distance, though barely audible.

"My parents are getting up there... They kinda act the same," another man said. "Always actin' like they're mad at one another, picking and bickering, but they do it 'cuz they love each other..."

Nami's jaw dropped, gaping at the man before pointing at Luffy and yelled, "I hate him!"

"What she said," Luffy pointed at Nami, "only... the other way around."

"Man, my parents keep saying the same thing," another man added. "Always saying how they wished they'd never met, and so on. They're expecting their twelfth kid in three months."

"Gaah!" Nami exclaimed, standing up quickly, feeling hot with anger, though... maybe for other reasons as she whirled around to storm off. However, dark clouds were beginning to roll in, another rumble of thunder sounding.

"Ah... was it supposed to rain?"

"No, I don't think it was," Luffy said, but he was frowning after Nami.

"Perhaps you might want to calm down?" Robin suggested to Nami. "After all, emotions can affect magic sometimes." Robin turned a page on her book, glancing up at Nami over the top of it.

"Maybe I don't want to!" Nami yelled over her shoulder, just as a louder rumble of thunder sounded, this time lighting flashed through the dark clouds, but she just kept going, grumbling angrily to herself.

Luffy winced and said to Robin, "Maybe letting her learn magic isn't such a good idea."

"Mmm," Robin hummed and looked after the departing Nami.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm down as Nami walked away from the camp, the dark clouds slowly began to drift apart, and the stars and moon shone once again. "Idiots... all of them," she whispered to herself before plopping down on a log.

Luffy sighed and looked up at the stars again. The clouds were clearing, so there was a good chance Nami was calming down. "Ugh," he groaned, "such a pain."

"And you're half of it," Zoro grouched from his place with a twitching brow.

Luffy turned to look at the green haired man and frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" Zoro just snorted, not bothering to give the smaller mage an answer. He was trying to sleep, damn it! They were noisy!

Sighing deeply, Nami stared up at the stars showing once again, or what she could see through the trees. She wanted to go home... and not have to deal with him anymore. Gasping, her hand flew up to her left breast with a blink. "O-Ow... What—?"

Luffy snorted as well and looked away from Zoro. Then suddenly, he sat up, he wasn't sure why, and looked over where Nami had walked off to.

Nami blinked, still clutching over her heart in confusion. What was that? She had felt a little pain when she had thought about going home. Maybe... Maybe it was because she missed them so much. Yes, that had to be it.

"Mm...? What is it?" Zoro asked, quirking his brow at Luffy. "Something wrong?"

"I don't know..." Luffy said, still looking where Nami had walked off to. Why did it suddenly feel like he wouldn't see her again? And why did that bother him so much?

Releasing her chest, Nami cleared her throat and tried to get comfortable again. It didn't matter. After today, she would have all the money she needed.

Luffy started heading where he'd seen Nami go. Just to make sure everything was okay, he told himself.

Feeling a little tired and more drained than she'd thought, she yawned, her eyes lulling closed, though she tried to keep them open. After a moment, they closed completely.

Luffy looked around the trees, trying to find where she was. "Nami?" he called, but she was fast asleep. He finally managed to find her. "Nami?" he asked, kneeling down by her.

"Mmm," she groaned in her sleep, curling up a bit more, "L ...f ..."

He blinked. What was she trying to say? It sounded like... but that was impossible. "Nami?" he whispered.

She didn't say anymore, but she also didn't wake up either. Luffy smiled down at her sleeping form, picked her up, careful not to touch her breasts, and started walking back towards the camp. Curling into the warmth, she then whispered again, only a little clearer, "L... fy."

He looked down at her again. Was she really...? He shook his head. Nah. But then he glanced back down at her. She really was beautiful when she was peaceful like this. When he made it back to the camp Robin looked up from her book, and stared when she saw Luffy carrying Nami. She started to get up. "She's just sleeping," Luffy said before she could fully rise to her feet. Nodding, she sat back down, but a small smile touched her lips.

All the men started to chuckle and nudge each other while pointing at Luffy. "Uh huh, hate each other they said," they whispered to one another.

"I'm... just going to put her to bed," Luffy said, to no one in particular, but mostly to Robin. He climbed into the tent, carrying Nami. Once he had her inside, he set her on her blankets. Deciding to go to sleep as well, he debated how to arrange their bodies. Lying down on his back, he pulled her closer to him, so that she was partially lying on top of him, his arm loosely wrapped around her.

Nami groaned a bit in her sleep, curling up further into him, her arm wrapped around him and tightened, and then she nuzzled his chest a bit to seek better comfort. Luffy smiled down at her, before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

When Luffy didn't come back out, the men all blinked, glancing to one another before they all looked over at Robin. Zoro even frowned a bit, sitting up a little straighter.

Instead of answering the unspoken question, Robin just smiled enigmatically and closed her book, heading for her own tent.

The men all exchanged glances once again, looking quite confused. Zoro's brow lifted up to the woman in question, watching as she disappeared into her own tent.

'_Strange…_'

**To be Continued…**

**Authors' Note:**

Darth: Well, that was something.

Con: Indeed it was... ~.~ Looks like she thinks about him in her sleep. ;-)

Darth: Subconscious anyone?

Con: Tee hee~! He totally ignored it though... ~,~

Darth: Did he now? I wouldn't know, haven't read it.

Con: You RPed it with me though. -_-

Darth: Yeah, months ago.

Con: Then why say, it was something! DX

Darth: Because there was definitely something in there.

Con: Right... ~.~ *Punches* Anyways, until next time, folks! XD


	11. Chapter 11: She's Jealous

**Authors' note:**

Con: So, how will they wake up this time, I wonder...

Darth: I'm betting... he's removed her bra during the night and is wearing it as a hat...wait...did women wear bras back when Corsets were in fashion?

Con: No... she just had her bodice...

Darth: Huh, wish I'd known this before. Would have made writing this all that much sexier.

Con: Oh? 0.o

Darth: She hasn't been wearing a bra this entire time! That is sexy!

Con: Oh, you poor thing. *Said flatly* So, anyway, I guess we should let them read on and see what happens, hmm?

Darth: I guess. Now if you'll excuse me, it's time for my grilled cheese sammich.

Con: I see... Oh, and by the way, she's not wearing underwear either. :-D

Darth: They didn't have any underwear in the middle ages? Damn. I was born too late.

Con: *Snort* Go eat your sammich. On with the chapter!

**Charmed**

**Chapter 11: She's Jealous**

Nami woke up with a groan, moving her leg more up and around whatever it was on, but then she blinked when she felt something warm down the backside of her pants. Her eyes flew open and she turned to see Luffy's hand down her pants, even though they were tight. However, the way she'd been laying, a small pocket had formed for him to slide his hand down it.

Screaming in angry rage, she slid down his body, seeing as his arms were wrapped around her too, but that only succeeded in untying the lace holding her leather bodice together as she managed to get out, which made her scream again as her breasts pushed the bodice aside, but she quickly grabbed it to close it. A few men snorted out of sleep and exited their tents quickly, thinking it was an ambush, their swords drawn. Even Zoro had quickly woken up, his swords drawn instantly. Robin rolled over and opened her eyes at the scream. She smiled, and sat up, stretching.

"Huh? Wha?" Luffy's eyes blinked open, just in time to catch a glimpse of Nami pulling her bodice closed. "Whazza?"

"What's going on! Who screamed! Is the princess safe!"

"_Luffy, you idiot_!" Nami screamed from within her tent. "How the hell do we keep waking up like that! Damn it! It was your fault this time!"

"She's probably fine," Robin said, climbing out of her tent. "This is normal."

"My fault?" Luffy yelled back. "How is this _my_ fault? I wake up and you're closing your top. The hell were you doing while I was asleep?"

"Probably?" The men asked, but blinked to the mention of her top being opened and little trickles of blood dribbled from their noses.

However, Zoro just frowned, slowly putting his swords away, and still very much confused. "What the hell?"

"_You had your hand down my pants, you perverted asshole_!" Nami yelled back, the tent shaking up a bit as she quickly turned around to retie her bodice. "I was trying to get away from you!"

More blood trickled a bit to the mention of his hand down her pants. "This has nothing to do with the princess," Robin said. "But I can't say for certain what her condition is, not having seen her yet today."

"Down those pants?" Luffy pointed at the tight garments. "At least come up with a more believable story!"

"_It was_!" she yelled over her shoulder, just finishing up the tie before turning back to him. "Look!" she said, laying over him a bit again, unconsciously remembering he didn't fall asleep right away after waking up, and then she turned around and pointed. "See? There's a small pocket there, and you had your hand right down it!"

The men sucked up the blood that wanted to flow. What the hell were they doing in there?

"Uh-huh..." he swallowed at the soft weight of her body on him, and the excellent view he had down her top.

"What do you mean, _uh huh_!" she yelled, turning back to look at him before scowling. "You pervert! What're you doing looking down my bodice! I'm trying to show you the small pocket down my pants!" Though... was that any different?

"Umm... yeah... that's also nice," he said after glancing down her pants, getting a bit of a view of her bare cheek. Oh geez, she wasn't wearing underwear! His mouth dried out completely.

"Also nice! I wasn't trying to give you good views, asshole!" she said, slamming her fist into his chest. "Mmmoh!" she exclaimed, the flustered girl exiting the tent in an enraged huff and ignoring all the stares and nosebleeds as she stormed off.

"What? You're the one that lay back down on top of me!" he yelled after her, climbing out of the tent. He noticed the stares and nosebleeds. "What're you looking at!" He glared at the other men.

They shook their heads and quickly turned away, wiping the blood away. If they had to go through that with a woman that looked like her doing that to them, but then not get any action... they just might be angry too...

"Stupid idiot! Hate him so much!" she hissed angrily, another quiet rumble of thunder sounding in the distance. "Damn it!"

Luffy sat down heavily in front of the fire pit, tossing logs into it and snapping his fingers. A large sheet of flame shot up from the pit, lighting the wood instantly. Luffy jumped back, surprised. His fire had never been that powerful before. At best it was usually barely better than having a match, or flint. "Whoa!" All the men blinked over at Luffy before snickering. After all, emotion had a lot to do with magic abilities.

After walking some distance, Nami looked over her shoulder and bit her lip. Walking into the forest a bit, she found a nice little wooded enclosure and walked behind it, stripping quickly, she brought up her fingers and whispered her incantation and pointed up. The little rain cloud appeared, pouring water over her, causing her to gasp, "Ah, cold!"

Luffy squinted up into the clouds, and then held out his hand as two birds fell down dead into it. He started prepping the birds for cooking. He looked over at Robin. "Do you want one?"

"No," she shook her head, "I'll be fine with fruit."

Sighing deeply after getting used to the water, Nami ran her hands through her wet hair, letting the cold liquid soak her bare body, and then she ran her hands down it to clean it off a bit. Once he'd finished cleaning the birds and had them roasting, he looked up where Nami had disappeared off to. He decided to go make sure she was okay. Pulling her hair to her front, she washed it off better, and then ran her hands over her face to wash that off too. Then she ran her hands over her body one more time to make sure she was clean.

Luffy walked past the trees, and then stopped when he heard movement off to the side. He glanced over, and his eyes widened. Nami's eyes were closed and her head was tilted up to the water, still completely unclothed as the water ran over her. After a moment, she sighed and opened her eyes before reaching up and dispersing the cloud. Then she grabbed her hair to ring out the water, her body still drenched with it.

Luffy gasped and hid behind a tree. He clamped his hands over his mouth and desperately tried to remember the invisibility spell. He knew she was beautiful, but had no idea how much seeing her naked would have affected him. Thinking she heard a noise, she quickly turned her head towards it and backed up a bit with a deep frown. "Who's there?" she asked before quickly grabbing for her clothes to put on.

Invisibility spell, invisibility spell, why the hell couldn't he remember it?

Pulling her clothes on quickly, she then walked over to where she'd heard the sound, bringing her fingers up just in case, her brows dipping down further. Luffy froze when he heard her approaching. His only hope now was that she passed him by.

He was not so lucky as she froze, staring right back at him, her face slowly brightening in color before getting extremely angry, her head lowering slowly. _Luf-fy_!" she shrieked at the top of her lungs, causing a large group of birds to squawk and flew away as a large group of storm clouds began to form and wind began to blow.

"Eh?" A few of the man questioned and blinked before looking at the ominous clouds forming ahead, and the thunder much louder and lightning much brighter as it flashed.

"Sorry-sorry-sorry," he yelped. "I just wanted to tell you breakfast was almost ready. I didn't know you were... naked... Sorry-sorry-sorry." He backed up, waving his hands in front of him.

She slowly began to bare her teeth at him and yelled, "_Get out of here_!" And a crack of lightning struck some distance behind her.

"Yes ma'am!" He turned around and ran away from the irate woman.

At the loud sound of the lightning cracking and the woman yelling once more, the men all shuddered, hoping the young man had survived. After Luffy had ran away, she forced herself to relax, taking deep breaths until finally the clouds went away, but she didn't go back to the camp just yet.

Once Luffy had made it to the safety of the camp, he bent over and rested his hands on his knees, panting. "Oooh, you made it out alive!" One of the men exclaimed with a grin.

"What'd ya do? Walk up on her naked?" They all laughed at that one, though the man had been joking.

"Yeah," Luffy gasped. "Umm... no… no, I didn't..." Perky… They blinked at him. Well, which one was it? Yes or no?

After awhile, Nami finally made her way back to the camp, though she couldn't quite shake her irritation, and so the lighter grey clouds still remained. Luffy checked the birds, they were almost done. When he looked up and saw Nami coming, he quickly turned back to the birds. Spotting him, she fumed, her cheeks puffing out a bit and the clouds darkening slightly, but she just huffed loudly, her chin turning up quickly as she went to sit by Robin instead of by the fire.

"What happened?" Robin looked up at Nami, offering her an apple.

Plopping down, she took the apple and bit into it roughly. "Asshole came up on my while I was bathing," she grumbled only loud enough for the woman to hear.

"Oh," Robin's eyes widened. "Did he...?"

She sighed deeply then. "I don't think he meant to though... I guess-I mean, he didn't know... or anything," she said, flushing a bit at being honest. "But still...! Who knows how long he'd been watching before I heard something!"

Robin glanced over at Luffy who was keeping his head down, examining the birds. "From the way he's acting, I doubt for very long. He seems quite embarrassed."

Looking over at Luffy, Nami pursed her lips, but her cheeks flushed more. "Hmph!"

"Here," Luffy said, offering Nami one of the birds on a plate, the best one. He refused to look at Nami, his face painted by a deep flush.

Looking up at him, her lips stuck out further, but she took the plate, huffing again and turning away from him.

Luffy sat down with the other bird and started eating. He occasionally glanced up at Nami. He wondered what her body would feel like pressed against his naked. He shook his head. Bad train of thought, very bad train of thought.

Nami pursed her lips further, watching as he shook his head. What was he trying to do? Shake her image from his head! She thought, her cheeks puffing out and reddening, '_Asshole_!'

Once he'd finished eating, he set the plate on the ground, throwing the bones into the fire. After she finished eating as well, she went up to him and held her hand out. "Give me your plate," she said in a voice, filled with irritation. Luffy handed her his plate. He glanced at her irritated face, and looked away, a blush on his face. Nami's own joined his flush as she took it from him and walked away to wash them.

Soon afterwards, the order to break camp was given and they made their way packing away. Nami gathered her things up before going over to Robin, waiting for Luffy. After packing up the tent, Luffy gathered up his gear and headed over to Nami and Robin.

"Looks like things are easy so far. I wonder if we'll run into some trouble today," Nami muttered with a frown.

"Perhaps, we can only hope that we don't, however," Robin replied as she looked over the camp and people.

"Mmm..." Nami replied as she went to her waiting horse. Tying her bag down, she then mounted it, a few men watching her as she did with a sigh before waiting for Robin, the other beautiful woman to do the same.

Luffy whistled and Merry trotted over. He climbed onto the horse, almost reaching down to help Nami up, when he remembered that she had her own horse now. Watching the group of three, the princess smiled, thinking they were very interesting indeed. Though, the mage, himself, was quite cute. Her cheeks flushed a bit as a hand came up to her cheek, feeling flustered. She urged her horse forward, though her bodyguards didn't seem too happy.

"Hmph," Luffy sighed. "I hope something exciting happens. It's boring just riding around."

"Of course you'd think that. You're an idiot," Nami said over at him irritated.

Vivi giggled, seeing that the young mage was brave, which made her cheeks flush a bit more. "Eh?" Nami blinked to the giggle, seeing a beautiful, blue haired girl sitting atop a horse. "Ah ...?"

Luffy looked up at the same time Nami did, having also heard the giggle. The beautiful, blue haired girl he saw was watching them, and he had to admit, she was very close to Nami in terms of beauty... not that he cared really.

"So, you're one of the mages that was hired?" the girl asked, smiling at him while tilting her head.

Nami felt something sting through her as the girl spoke to Luffy, her brow twitching a bit as she suddenly felt herself getting upset, but she stamped it down and just watched.

"Oh? Uh... yeah," he cleared his throat. "Yeah I am. You are...?"

She closed her eyes into her smile, urging her horse forward and holding out her hand to him. "I am Vivi."

Nami's back went rigid, and quite possibly, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Wait, Vivi? Wasn't that the name of the princess? So, this girl was the princess?

Something about the name stirred Luffy's memory. "The Princess...?" he asked, shaking her hand instead of kissing it.

Vivi giggled as her eyes softened and said, "Yes, that's right."

Nami's brow twitched a bit again before she huffed and spurred her horse on. She didn't care what the idiot did, and even so, a small rumble of thunder sounded overhead, and the men all thought, '_Uh oh_ ...'

"Oh…" He hesitated. What were you supposed to say to a princess? "So... how do you do?" He heard the thunder overhead and glanced ahead him at Nami, who was riding away. What was she mad about?

Hearing the thunder as well, Vivi looked over head and frowned. "It's going to rain?"

"Oh, no..." He chuckled. "I doubt it."

She looked back down at him and asked, "Oh, really?" And then she smiled before turning to Robin as well, not to seem as if she went out of her way to speak to Luffy, though everyone knew that was the reason. "Hello, are you another mage that was hired. It's a pleasure to meet you-Oh! Wh-Where did the other woman go?" she asked, looking around, not evening having noticed Nami had ridden away.

"Oh, she had something to do," Robin said, inclining her head to the princess.

"Oh, I see." Vivi blinked blankly, touching a finger to her cheek before just smiling and turning back to Luffy. "You don't mind if I ride with you, do you?"

"Of course not," Luffy said, blinking. This was the first time a girl had been this nice to him. Well, he'd known girls before, and most of them were nice, but there was something different about the way the princess was being nice.

Nami glared at him, wanting to tear him apart for some unknown reason before facing forward again with a snort. "Asshole..."

"Thank you," Vivi said, riding up next to him as the troupe headed out, her bodyguards not too far behind her.

For a while Luffy didn't say anything as they rode. He really didn't know what to say to a princess. That and for some reason, he felt like he could sense Nami's bad mood, and it was making him nervous trying to figure out what he'd done this time.

"Ah, you never told me your name," Vivi said with a giggle.

"Oh, it's Luffy," he said. "Monkey D. Luffy."

"Luffy. What a nice name," she said, smiling brightly at him. Another rumble disturbed the sky.

"Thank you," Luffy glanced over at Nami. The hell was her problem?

Looking up at the sky, Vivi frowned again and said, "I really hope it doesn't rain..."

Zoro watched after them carefully. The orange haired woman was definitely jealous. So, why did she claim to hate the scrawny mage?

"Well... I hope it _doesn't_ rain either." Luffy frowned at Nami again.

Robin rolled her eyes. So obvious, and so immature, yet, kind of cute.

Nami turned her glare on Luffy, her cheeks puffed out before she smirked and her eyes sparkled as lightning crackled across the sky brightly. Luffy frowned nervously at the sky. Then he glared back at Nami. Now what was she doing?

"Oh!" Vivi cried, her horse getting a bit nervous, though from Nami's evil aura or from the loud lightning, who could tell ...?

"S'cuse me a sec princess," Luffy muttered and urged his horse towards Nami. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked her, keeping distance between him and her, wary of her evil aura.

She refused to look at him, keeping her chin lifted and her eyes closed. "I dunno what you're talking about."

Vivi blinked after him, but then frowned softly. Was that woman anything to him?

"Then what's with all the lightning and thunder?" Luffy frowned, still incredibly nervous.

"Lightning and thunder? What're you talking about? The skies are clear as day~!" she said with a smile on her face.

Vivi blinked. Somehow the dark clouds had disappeared. Luffy scoffed and said, "Yeah right, you did that just now."

"I have nooo idea what you're talking about, Luffy~!" she said sweetly, her eyes closed and a smile still on her face. "Why don't you go back to your little princess now? She did ask to ride with you." She snorted, "Though, I have no idea _why_. You're just a scrawny idiot."

He remembered something Ace had told him about an ex-girlfriend. "Are you jealous? Is that why you're so mad?"

"Jealous!" she shrieked, looking appalled, disgusted and upset, but then she scoffed and her lips curved up with amusement, though her brows were dipped. "Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" she said before laughing and urging her horse forward. "Dream on, you scrawny idiot!"

"She's jealous..." all the men muttered under their breath to themselves, and Zoro snorted loudly.

Luffy rolled his eyes, and reined Merry back till the princess had caught up again. Nami really was a weird girl. But he thought he was starting to get the hang of her moods... or, at least he thought so. "Um... is she... all right?" Vivi asked, frowning softly.

"I... don't know," Luffy shrugged. "She can be... weird sometimes."

"Oh, I see," Vivi replied with a nervous smile.

"Don't worry about her. She'll be all right," he replied with a shrug.

"All right then," Vivi said with a brighter smile already.

xxxx

When they came to the next town, Igaram had Pell take a small group of the men to check for any danger to their princess. Nami was still in a pissy mood, though she managed to keep the storm clouds at bay. However, her horse paced nervously to her agitation.

Luffy glanced over at Nami and sighed. Wouldn't she be happier if he wasn't around her? If he was around someone else, he wouldn't be bothering her, so why was she being so pissy?

Vivi frowned at Luffy, who kept watching after the woman a lot from what she'd noticed. After all, she'd been watching him the entire time. So, was this woman really something to him? Though, they didn't seem like they had any kinda of relationship.

When Pell returned, he reported that there was no suspicious activity, and that he had men stationed at the local inn, with rooms reserved for the princess and the guards. Igaram had the convoy move on into the village. Sighing and glad they would finally be staying in a bed and a hot bath waiting, Nami urged her horse forward.

Once they made their way into the village, and then the inn, dinner arrangements were made. "This way please, Princess," Igaram said. "You can freshen up from the journey before dinner."

"Ah, thank you," Vivi said before turning to Luffy with a smile. "Thank you, Luffy, for allowing me to accompany you on our journey here."

"Oh, no problem, glad I could help," Luffy said. Though, he wasn't really sure what he'd done to help.

She giggled softly with a knuckle to her lips before dismounting and going inside. "See you later," she called over her shoulder.

Nami's brow twitched and then furrowed deeper to the giggle. Was she trying to get his attention or something? The idiot was probably too stupid to notice.

What was that girl interested about in him anyways?

"Sure," Luffy felt himself smiling. She really was very nice, much better company than Nami was ever. Though, he had to admit, there was something about Nami, perhaps a fire he could call it, that Vivi didn't seem to have. Nami wanted to rip his balls off and feed them to him.

"Seriously," he said, walking over to Nami, "what're you so angry about?"

Nami snorted, turning away from him, "I don't know what you're talking about. What're you so worried about it for anyways? You were probably glad to be with her anyways, right? Since I'm always so angry all the time-Well, good for you! You should be leaving me alone and fawning over your princess instead!" she said as she walked off.

"You're angry when I'm around you, you're angry when I'm not around you and with someone else instead," he said, following her. "You're not making very much sense."

"I'm angry because it all has to do with _you_!" she said, whirling around on him and jabbing a finger into his chest. "_You_ make me angry! Don't you get it! I," she jabbed her finger into his chest, and again to each word she spoke after, "can't ... stand ... you! Or are you too much of a fucking moron to realize that! Do I have to tell you bluntly, huh! Well I just did! You ... are ... a ... fucking ... _idiot_!" she said, jabbing him again to each word before walking away towards the exit. "Now stop bothering me!"

"But if you can't stand me, then why the hell did you get so mad when I wasn't bothering you?" he said, but didn't follow after her. Crazy woman.

"Because being angry with you all the time makes me feel better!" she yelled over her shoulder.

His eyebrow twitched, his aura started creeping out from him again, lightly shaking the furniture in the main hall of the inn. "That's bullshit," he yelled after her. "Being angry doesn't make anyone feel better."

"Oi ...!" A few of the guards looked over at Luffy, his aura a color they didn't wanna mess with, and so they all scurried to the other side of the room.

Zoro's brow lifted up heavily to the young mage. So, he could get his feathers ruffled as well, and it wasn't just the woman. Luffy sighed and tried to calm down. His aura disappeared, and he closed his eyes. He was going to have to find some way to work off this frustration. Otherwise, he was going to end up doing something he regretted.

There was suddenly a scream and a crash from upstairs, the scream sounding like the princess. Then loud stomps as people ran around upstairs, and just then, more men rushed inside, one back handing Nami across the face, who had been heading out. "Aah!" she cried, flying back and crashing into a chair before hitting the floor hard, a droplet of blood gliding down her chin from her mouth.

Luffy's head spun around at Nami's cry. He turned just in time to see her hit the chair, the man who'd struck her still had his arm outstretched. A heavy pressure filled the room, at the center of it Luffy, a bright blue aura surrounding him with his eyes shining a bright blue. The chairs and tables, all vibrating heavily, lifted into the air, as Luffy lifted his arms. Pointing his arms at the man, who'd attacked Nami, he released all the furniture. A heavy wave of splintering wood hit the man, and those around him, blasting a hole into the side of the inn.

Gasping and crying out, Nami covered her head and everyone hit the floor all crying out in confusion. Once the noise died down, they all turned to gape at Luffy. Gaping at the hole in the side of the inn, Nami then turned wide eyes to Luffy. The blue aura around him and the blue glow to his eyes hadn't dissipated yet. Had he done that because of her? Her cheeks pinkened before she got up and straightened out her clothes, but just then, the men Luffy'd blown away came rushing back inside. Gasping, she quickly ran back towards Luffy, where, unfortunately, she knew it was safe.

Luffy held out his outstretched hands in front of him. He muttered words he would barely remember later. Pinpoints of blue light flickered into existence in front of him, growing larger and connecting. As its intensity grew, the light became blinding, before a large wide blast of blue energy took out what was left of the wall. Gasping loudly, Nami gaped wide eyed at the destructive power, the men screaming as they fazed out of existence, or so it seemed, the light was so blinding.

Lowering his hands, the light died down, as well as the aura, which flared out of existence. There was no sign of the attackers. Luffy turned to Nami and asked, "Are you all right?"

Her cheeks flared as she shifted her eyes away while clearing her throat. "I-I'm fine!" she said, grabbing her braid and clutching it to her, the guards all chuckling at her, which made her purse her lips at them angrily, but the blush spread.

Frowning deeply, he reached out to clutch her chin, running his thumb over the blood there. Nami's blush deepened further as her eyes widened, just staring up at him in stunned shock. However, a memory caught his attention as the rage faded. "The Princess!" he gasped.

Nami's brow twitched a bit. How quickly it changed... Wait... What the hell was she thinking? Her eyes narrowed. "Right," she muttered under her breath.

All the guards seemed to remember as well and ran up the stairs, where Zoro was already fighting. Luffy stretched his arms, pulling himself over the people rushing up the stairs. Bouncing off the ceiling, he leapt over the attackers' heads, and ran to Vivi's room. There were already a few men inside, and a really big man with his arm around Vivi. He had a scar going all the way across his face and a cigar in his mouth, and he was also laughing very unpleasantly.

"Let go of me!" Vivi cried, struggling in his arms.

"Hey!" Luffy yelled, blasting his fist at the scarred man holding Vivi.

He laughed harder before leaping back and out of the window he'd been standing in front of. "Luffy!" Vivi cried as she reached out towards him.

"Hey!" Luffy rushed after the man.

Robin made her way past the men rushing up the stairs, where she found Zoro fighting off their attackers. Zoro held two swords in his hands and one in his mouth as he pushed the enemies back, cutting up a few.

There were horses waiting below where Croc hefted Vivi over one before mounting and taking off. "Get back here!" Luffy yelled, jumping out the window, to follow the kidnappers.

"Clutch," Robin called. Arms appeared on all the men, holding them off. She clenched her fists and there were several popping noises. The men all dropped. Blinking, Zoro stared down at the men before looking over at Robin... Impressive...

Looking behind his shoulder, the large man grinned widely before spurring his horse on. Going to the doorway, Nami blinked when she saw that Luffy was no longer in the room and then rushed downstairs, seeing him there. "Luffy!"

"Let's hurry," Robin said, rushing ahead of the other men to Vivi's room.

Luffy brought his fingers to his lips and whistled. Merry, came galloping out of the stables, and Luffy leapt onto him before the horse could make a full stop. "Oi! Wait for me!" Nami said with a frown as she ran up to him and Merry.

Luffy held his arm out to her. Without thinking about it, she grabbed his hand and climbed on behind him, careful not to let her breasts touch him. "Let's go!" Luffy kicked his heels into Merry, and Merry sped off after the retreating man, trying to catch up to the kidnappers.

By then Robin had made her way back down to the ground floor, in time to see Luffy and Nami take off after the kidnappers.

Zoro came out after her, looked towards Luffy and Nami before going for a horse and mounting it, but he stopped in front of Robin, holding out a hand to her. "Come on!" Robin grabbed Zoro's hand, climbing on behind him. Zoro took off after Luffy's horse as soon as her rear touched the saddled.

Luffy sped up Merry, but even still, the enemy still seemed to be getting away. Nami looked out ahead of him, finally seeing the dust from the enemy's horse. "There!" she cried while pointing.

Luffy looked where Nami was pointing and sped Merry up. "Come on Merry," he urged his horse. "Catch up to them!"

Robin held onto Zoro, but then she pointed at the dust cloud that was the kidnappers. "There."

The large man looked over his shoulder again with a scowl, seeing that they were catching up. Seeing them as well, Vivi took a deep breath and cried, "Luffy!"

Nami almost fell off of Merry.

One of the kidnappers broke off from the group, and wheeled around, heading for Luffy and Nami.

Gasping, Nami clutched at Luffy's arm a bit, watching as the man headed right for them. Urging his horse forward, Zoro pulled out one of his swords, ready to attack. The man rushed at Luffy and Nami, hands outstretched, curved fingers forming claw like blades. Luffy's eyes widened, recognizing the spell he'd only recently learned. He prepared to use the same spell, but remembered that Nami was behind him. If he used the spell now, she might get hurt.

"Stop the horse and let me off, quick!" she yelled at him, knowing she needed to be away from him.

Luffy reined in his horse, and Nami quickly jumped off and yelled, "Go!"

Luffy urged Merry forward and cast the spell just as the man was upon him. His bladed hands caught the other man's fingers, but the man, much larger than himself, threw Luffy off his horse. Luffy flew through the air and landed on his back. He pushed himself up and winced. Shallow cuts covered his palms and arms.

Gasping, Nami gaped at him wide eyed. "Luffy!" she cried out, feeling a bit of panic.

Zoro pulled on the reins, his horse skidding to a stop, and then he helped Robin down before dismounting and holding out his blade and running his hand over it while muttering an incantation. The blade shone brightly before swiping it to the side and a large dragon roared as it was sent flying from the blade, hitting the dark skinned man. The dark skinned man flew back several feet, but once the attack had dissipated, the man was standing there, arms crossed, relatively unharmed.

Robin climbed back on the horse. "Can you handle him?" she called to Zoro.

"Shouldn't be too hard," Zoro muttered, removing his other two swords.

Nami backed away quickly, wanting none of that before looking at Luffy and said, "We should go after the princess!"

"Right." Luffy climbed onto Merry, helping Nami up. "Yah!" he yelled, urging Merry after the kidnappers. Robin had already mounted and was in pursuit.

Zoro smirked at the man and said, "Looks like it's just you 'n me ..."

"For now," the man said. "Soon it will only be me."

Zoro's smirk widened. "We'll see," he said before surging forward and muttering another incantation.

The large man held his hands out forming a semblance of a spider with them, as he chanted a deep continuous incantation.

Nami got as comfortable as possible and frowned ahead. "He really got ahead of us! I hope we can still find him!"

"We'll find him," Luffy said, determination etched on his face.

Nami frowned a bit, looking up at him before looking forward again. Had he been this determined when she'd been taken? ... Why was she asking herself that?

With a burst of speed no natural horse could match, Merry started catching up to their enemy.

"What the ...!" The scarred man muttered, looking to see them catching up again. He could see this wasn't going so well. Picking up the girl, he tossed her to another goon riding beside him, causing her to scream. "Watch her..."

"Yes, sir, Sir Crocodile!" The man said, holding Vivi down.

"We've almost got them!" Luffy urged Merry forward, when he noticed the scarred man slowing down, after handing Vivi to another Goon.

After Croc had slowed down enough, he then turned his horse around with a smirk on his face. "Not bad," he called, and his goons stopped and turned some distance away to wait for their boss.

Luffy slowed his horse down, not far away from the kidnappers. "Who are you?" he yelled. "Hand over the princess or we'll kick your ass!"

Robin caught up to them, slowing down her horse to match with Luffy's. Crocodile threw back his head and bellowed in laughter. "Hand her over? No, I don't think so."

"Get off the horse," Luffy muttered to Nami.

"Right," Nami said, dismounting quickly and stepping away, which caused Croc's eyes to shift to her.

Luffy dismounted as well and stretched his arm, punching at the scarred man's face, but his fist went right through him, and where he had punched, turned into sand. The man never lost his smug smirk.

Luffy gasped and pulled back his hand. "What the hell is this?"

The sand formed back into Croc's face and his smirk widened as he began to laugh. "You can't hit me."

"Oh yeah?" Luffy whipped his leg at the man.

His body looked to be cut in half, which turned to sand where Luffy's leg had contacted, and the man only laughed harder.

Robin crossed her arms, and arms began sprouting over the man, attempting to hold him down, but wherever her hands reached for only turned to sand. Robin gasped and frowned as she uncrossed her arms. There was nothing more she could really do.

Luffy started powering up, igniting his aura and gathering energy to fire it at the man. Croc's smirk managed to widen into a malicious grin as he suddenly disappeared, turning into a cloud of sand, which rushed straight at Luffy. He appeared as a man again, right in front of him and slammed his fist into Luffy's face.

"Luffy!" Nami cried after gasping loudly to the unexpected attack.

The force that ripped through Luffy's head was unlike anything he'd ever felt, and so, he blacked out. Laughing loudly, Croc reverted back to sand before going back and reforming over his horse. He pulled at the reins and turned to his men. "Let's go!" he said, the others following him.

"Luffy!" Vivi cried as they rode away.

"Luffy!" Nami cried, running over to him and rolling him onto his back. "Luffy ... Luffy, are you all right! Luffy!" she cried again, giving him a shake and looking rather fearful.

Luffy was barely conscious. "N...mi..." he muttered, before passing out. Robin ran over to Luffy as well, noticing Nami's frantic expression and behavior.

"Oi, Luffy!" Nami cried, leaning down to press her ear to his chest before releasing her pent up breath. "You jerk!" she cried, sitting up again. "Come on! Wake up, or the bad guy gets away with your princess!" she said, though her voice sounded a little bitter. "Wake up!" she said, slapping his cheek, but Luffy was still out cold.

Robin cocked her brow at Nami calling Vivi 'his princess'. "Oi!" she cried, slapping him again. "Wake up!" Luffy groaned and started to stir. "Oi!" She slapped him again for good measure. "Wake up, stupid! They're getting away!"

"Urgh..." Luffy's eyes fluttered opened.

"_Wake_... _up_!" she said, giving him a shake to each word. "They... are... getting... away... with... your... princess!"

"S'not... my... princess..." he groaned. "S... job..."

She sucked in her breath a bit, but then snorted, stood up, grabbed his hand and pulled him up. "Then let's hurry up and finish the job!"

"Yeah..yeah..." he shakily stood up. "Whoa... where's the mountain that hit me?"

"That way with the 'job'!" she said before whistling out loudly for Merry, who was off somewhere. They had no time for messing around. Merry quickly trotted up to them.

"Come on! Get on!" she said, shoving Luffy over to Merry. "Good boy," she said, petting Merry's nose briefly.

Luffy tried to hold himself onto Merry, and slowly, he was regaining his bearings.

Nami pulled herself up, and gave Merry a soft smack on his rear. "Go, Merry!" Robin mounted and followed after Luffy and Nami.

Luffy straightened, gaining control of the horse. "Damn," he muttered. "I've never felt anyone hit that hard."

"Well, you're about to feel it again if we fail this job, asshole!" Nami yelled, turning to frown up at him deeply, though he couldn't see it.

"Why don't you try getting hit by him?" he muttered and hurried Merry on.

"What'd you say!" she yelled, smacking him on the back, somehow unconsciously considering not to hit his head since it might be hurting.

"Oww..." he muttered. He dug his heels into Merry, who sped up, and soon, the kidnappers were in view again.

"Quit complaining!" she yelled before looking ahead to their enemy. When Croc turned, his eyes flickered surprise that they were still pursuing him and so slowed down once again.

When they were approaching, Luffy stood up on Merry and jumped off, right at the kidnapper. In midair he used the body blade spell. Nami gasped loudly, quickly grabbed a hold of Merry's reins before looking up to gape at Luffy. Croc scowled up at Luffy, but Luffy went right through Croc. However, his weight startled the horse, causing it to scream and flip forward.

Luffy rolled when he hit the ground, twisting around and stretching his bladed fist at the hook, that he was sure couldn't turn into sand.

Croc lifted it up to block, the blade cutting through it about half way. His scowl deepened as he stared Luffy down before shoving the hook at him and pulling it away to push him away.

Nami pulled back on Merry's reins to back away from the fight and said, "Back, boy." Merry did as she bid, taking steps back away from the fight with a snort to keep her safe.

Luffy stretched his leg, making the foot heavier, and smashed it against the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust and debris. Narrowing his eyes at Luffy, Croc backed away from the debris. Using the chance when he was hidden by the debris, Luffy powered up his energy attack. Croc appeared before him, the sand turning into his body and he grabbed his arm, and within seconds, all the water was drained from it.

What was going on? With all the debris, Nami couldn't see a thing. She frowned deeply in some concern.

Luffy screamed when he saw his mummified arm.

Gasping, Nami quickly jolted forward, but Merry didn't seem to want to budge, and she cried, "Luffy!"

Merry shifted nervously, wanting to help his master, but also wanting to keep Nami safe. Luffy screamed again, trying to pull his arm from the man's grip. Croc let go, his smirk smug and wide.

"Luffy!" Nami cried again before looking down at Merry. "Merry, go!" she cried frantically, wanting to get to Luffy.

Gasping, Luffy collapsed when the man let go. He pushed himself up, his dried out arm hanging limply by his side, and so, he punched at the man with his other arm. Merry did as Nami said, and burst through the debris. Croc grabbed his other arm and grabbed his throat with his free hand, lifting him up into the air. "Can't you see that it's useless? You can't defeat me."

The debris was still everywhere, and Nami couldn't see a thing. "Luffy, where are you!"

"The hell I can't," Luffy gasped, his breath cut off by the man's hand.

Croc laughed again, his laugh taunting and haughty. "You can't do a thing against me. Look... your other arm is useless," he said, lifting up Luffy's other mummified arm, "and soon... you will be too," he said, beginning to suck all the water from within his body.

"Luffy! Luffy!" Nami cried, looking around for him, and finally two figures came into view through the debris. "Merry there!" she said, pointing ahead to the horse and Merry bolted in the direction Nami pointed.

Luffy gasped as the water was sucked from him. He felt himself shrivel up and his consciousness fade.

Bursting into a victorious laugh, Croc then let Luffy drop down to the ground before stepping over him and walking off. Gasping when she saw Luffy drop and Croc walk off through the curtain of dust, she then pulled Merry to a stop and climbed off quickly to run towards Luffy, the dust finally settling.

"Luffy!" she cried, but then froze on the spot, her hands flying to her mouth and her eyes widening. She stood there still in shock at what she saw, not being able to move at all.

Luffy was unconscious, and completely mummified. Robin, ridding a normal horse, caught up just as the debris was settling and the kidnapper was leaving. She gasped when she saw Luffy's condition.

After awhile, Nami's body began to move, her head lowering and her knees slowly buckling as she lowered to the ground. It seemed to take an eternity before her knees finally touched the ground, and she stared down at his mummified body. There was no way anyone could survive that... not even the stubborn idiot.

A soft rumble disturbed the sky above and not even a minute later, a droplet landed onto Luffy's cheek and rolled down as more droplets slowly followed, and soon the skies opened up, releasing a downpour of soft rain, hiding the warm droplets gliding down her face with the rest of the soft rain.

"Luffy…"

**To Be Continued…**

**Authors' Note:**

Con: Maaw... How sad... ;~; It rains when she's sad...

Darth: Wow. Cheesy. That was your contribution to this project, not mine.

Con: *Punches* You thought it was an awesome idea when I brought it up!

Darth: Underhanded-no-Jutsu!

Con: *Punches again and flattens him* Uh huh... Don't give me that.

Darth: Sexy-no-Jutsu!

Con: Wait, what! DX *Steps on chest* That's just not right, man!

Darth: Hehehehehehe!

Con: -_- Anyways, until next time...

Darth: Boobies

Con: Your face


	12. Chapter 12: He Lives

**Authors' Notes:**

Con: Huh... so... it would seem I finished chapter 12 YEARS ago... but just never posted it... I wonder why that is? o.o

Derek: Who are you again?

Con: Not sure I even know anymore. o.o And who's Derek? I thought I wrote this fic with some loser named Dart. ~.~

Darth: Ignore him, he's my evil twin.

Con: Huh... o.o *Stares* I'd say he's the good twin, but you're both still losers. o.o

Darth: Says the person who didn't realize they had this entire chapter edited months ago.

Con: Try years... o.o Touché... Not to mention, I was evil enough to leave it on such a cliffhanger... *Taps fingers together* My evil plan has been realized! Muwahahaha! X)

Darth: I can't even remember what this story was about anymore.

Con: Me neither... I read the first chapter, and then the 11th and 12th, before realizing, I never posted the 12th one. o.o I kinda remember, but would take too long to reread. *Plugs nose with pinky finger* Oh well... I guess I can keep going with it... I remember it had a cool ending... Wait, did we ever end it? o.,o

Darth: We did, but we kinda lost steam at some point…wait…I'm not supposed to tell them that.

Con: Whoa... o.o Too much information... I suppose I will have to rekindle it, once I get to that point... I suppose we should let them read chapter 12... It's been so long, after all... O.o

Darth: Yeah, if they even remember this thing exists.

Con: True... ._. Hope you guys enjoy it... X(

**P.S. From Con: **Hey guys, I did kind of a half ass edit job. ^,^ I hope you guys don't mind. :D Sorry for taking so long with this, but as you might already know, I've been super busy with my own book. X( Still am, actually, but just was in the mood to work on these fics a bit. :)

**Charmed**

**Chapter 12: He Lives**

Nami's eyes shifted to her lap, her vision beginning to blur, sure it was just the rain water getting in her eyes as she slowly brought her hands to her lap and whispered, "Idiot..."

Luffy's finger twitched.

Robin frowned, and looked away, leaving the girl to her grief.

The water started to soak into his dried body, the wrinkled skin and dried muscles filling up with the much needed moisture. Swallowing hard, she closed her eyes and ignored the pain in her chest, trying to brush it off as nothing. She had nothing to be sad for, right? He was just an idiot. His eyebrow twitched, reacting to the rainwater. His body was almost back to normal. He groaned, but the rain drowned it out.

Her fingers tightened around each other, the leather groaning a bit to the water and her hands rubbing against it. Why was it raining all of a sudden? Where did it come from? His eyes fluttered, and his hand slowly reached up and grabbed her hand.

Shrieking, she jumped up high before looking down at him wide eyed and in shock that he was back to normal. "Wha-Wha-Wha—?" she sputtered before scowling. "You-You-You… idiot!" she yelled, punching him on the chest. "You scared the shit out of me!" Was it just her? Or was the rain running down her face a little warmer than the rest, and why did her voice quiver when she talked? It had to be because she was angry.

Robin's head snapped around, and she gasped when she saw Luffy back to normal. "Owww..." he groaned. His whole body was tingling, as if it had fallen asleep and was now getting the blood flowing in it again. In fact, that was exactly what happened to it.

"What the hell was that, huh!?" she yelled, her voice still quivering as she hit him again. "Y-You can't go around losing like this so much, damn it! That... That's already twice!" She hit him again for good measure.

"Owww..." he sobbed and whimpered in frustration. "I...I can't move." His voice was hoarse, the body parts having literally just come back to life.

She blinked down at him, but then huffed. "M-Maybe... you-you're blood... isn't flowing right... I think... I have an idea of what happened," she said before taking his hand in hers and began to rub his arms to help his circulation. "Robin, help me!" she called over her shoulder.

Robin climbed off her horse and walked over to them. She crossed her arms and several arms appeared from the ground. She didn't want to risk Luffy's body by having them grow out of him, and started massaging his body. Luffy gasped out loud as his blood began to flow again.

After rubbing his arms, she then moved to his legs and began messaging those along with Robin's hands. "Can you move yet?" Luffy lifted his arms and clenched his hands into fists. He winced from the movement, his limbs still in searing pain. "Try standing up," she said, standing up and holding out a hand to him, the rain finally stopping suddenly, which she vaguely wondered about, but didn't get into deep thought about it.

Luffy took her hand, his limbs screaming as he stood up. Once he was standing, his legs faltered and he fell forward, grabbing a hold of Nami to keep his balance. His whole front was pressed into hers, his weight resting on her waist, where his hands had gripped, his face planted into the crook of her neck.

Stiffening with a gasp and her face burning with heat, she swallowed hard, but decided to let it slide just this once. "Um... a-are you okay?" Wait... he'd just landed on her. Would he fall asleep!? Now was not the time for that!? "O-Oi! L-Luffy! We have to go after the princess! Don't you fall asleep!" she said, trying to push him up and off to steady him.

"I..." He pushed himself away from her, managing to steady himself, but keeping his hands on her shoulders, "I don't think I have any strength left to face him now."

She frowned deeply and said, "Damn it, Luffy, we have to do this! It's not about the money anymore, right!? They have the princess! We have to get her back!"

"I... I know," he started, but swayed. "We have to..." He collapsed to his knees, panting, but pushed himself up.

"L-Luffy," Nami called, reaching down to help him up again and her frown softening a bit with concern, though why she was concerned for the idiot...

"Perhaps it would be best if you stay with him, and let him recover," Robin suggested. "I will continue and find where they are headed. Once we reunite, we can make a plan."

Looking up at Robin with her frown, Nami then sighed, while closing her eyes and conceded with a nod. "All right..." Then she looked back down at Luffy.

"Catch up as soon as he is well," Robin said as she moved back to her horse. "I'm certain your horse is more than capable of doing so."

She nodded again. "All right, be careful, Robin," she said, looking up at her again as she knelt down in front of Luffy. "Oi, are you okay?" she asked, looking at him again, as Robin climbed onto her horse and took off after the kidnappers and the princess.

"I think... so..." he gasped. "Hard to breathe."

"Lean your head back a bit," she said, cupping the sides of his head to help him do so before pressing her fingers to her lips and muttering an incantation, but then she quickly cupped her hands under the cloud and said, "Open your mouth..."

He opened his mouth. "What are you...?"

She let her hands part a bit as the refuse water drifted out of her palms to the ground, but a small stream that she let filter through drifted right into his mouth. "Drink it. Your insides might still be dried out, which is why it's hard for you to breathe," she explained to him, watching carefully what she did.

The water was cold, and it stung as it trickled down his throat. Once inside, he felt his insides sting and a warm sensation. "Ah," he gasped, some water spilling out of his mouth, but he kept drinking.

"Try not to drink it too fast. I know it might be hard since it's all just draining in," she said, closing her hands a bit more to make the stream smaller, the rest pouring onto her since more was coming out over her palms, but she dealt with it. It was more important to get the water into him slowly. Besides, they were both still drenched from the earlier rain.

It felt like a balloon inflating inside of him as his body reabsorbed the liquid. After a while, the swelling feeling stopped, but he kept drinking. He felt he'd always be thirsty after this.

"Let me know when you think you've had enough, okay?" she said, still frowning down at him.

"'Kay," he muttered, and finally he felt like he wouldn't die if he stopped drinking. "I think I'm good..."

"All right, move away," she said and helped him a bit. Lowering a hand, the rain water kept falling before she muttered another incantation and swiped her fingers to the side and it disappeared.

"'Kay," he replied and moved away from her, resting his palms on the grass behind himself. He sat back, gasping for air and froze. He blinked and flushed as he stared at her soaking wet body. He looked at the ground, discreetly glancing up at her.

Sighing, she then looked down at him and asked, "You feeling better?"

"I think so," Luffy replied and cleared his throat. It was incredibly raw. He glanced back again. She was in pretty decent shape. The light shining off her stomach defined the lines of her flat belly, with a tantalizing hint of muscle underneath it. He could have cried.

She stood up then, those slight muscles flexing and moving as she did, not to mention she leaned forward slightly to push herself up, her cleavage bared to him more so for a few seconds. Reaching around to her back, she grabbed her braid and gave it a squeeze to get the water out. "Soaking wet," she muttered to herself with a frown.

Yes, thought Luffy, very, very wet. "Huh?" He blinked. "You're what?"

She looked down at him with a slight frown and said, "You're brain still dry too? Or maybe your ears got water in them? I said I'm wet!"

"Oh," he said and chuckled, which turned into a hacking cough.

Her frowned worsened, wondering what he'd been chuckling about, but glad he was now hacking up because of it. It couldn't have been good. She snorted softly before looking away and continuing to dry out her hair a bit more. Once the cough had finished, Luffy laid back onto the grass, wheezing.

"You idiot," she chided before looking behind her to Merry, who was just grazing and then looking back at him. How long was it going to take him? They couldn't waste too much time.

xxxx

After about fifteen minutes later, Luffy stood up, his strength somewhat returned and said, "We need to go."

Looking up at him, she frowned and asked, "Are you sure?" But she stood up anyways.

"No," he said and shook his head, "but we can't waste anymore time."

She sighed, frowning a little deeper before nodding and turning to Merry. "Merry, come."

Merry trotted over to Master and his...mistress...boss...slave driver?

Nami took his reins and smiled before petting down his nose and giving him a kiss on his head. "You're a good boy," she cooed in a soft voice. Merry snorted and nuzzled her shoulder. She smiled brightly with a soft chuckle before turning to Luffy, and the smile disappeared. "Come on, let's go."

"Dumb animal," Luffy muttered, walking over to Nami and the horse.

Nami blinked a bit, looking a bit confused. "Eh?"

"Nothing," he muttered, glaring at Merry, trying to climb on, not quite finding the strength.

Sighing, she reached up and grabbed him. "Hold on," she said before pulling him away and climbing up first. Then she turned and held her hand out to him. "Hurry up," she said, frowning down at him.

Luffy grabbed her hand and climbed on behind her. He felt weird, being in this position again, only this time it was more that he was behind the saddle, not in the saddle and with her in front of it.

Leaning down next to Merry's ear, Nami whispered, "Go, Merry, as fast as you can, please?"

Merry took off, faster than he'd ever done for Luffy. Luffy grabbed Nami's waist to stay on the horse, from the sudden acceleration. "Damn it!" he muttered with a pout to the horse.

Nami smiled, petting over the side of Merry's neck. "Good boy," she managed to say before just leaning forward and letting Merry do the work for them for now. But then she blinked, looking down at his arm holding onto her waist. She frowned a bit, but knew it might be harder for him to hold on when he was so weak. So, she would let this slide too.

Luffy tried to focus on regaining his strength, not on how good her body felt against his, he didn't want a repeat of what happened last time they rode like this. She only hoped that it wasn't too late to save that princess, even if she did annoy her for some reason or another...

After a particularly large jolt, Luffy's hands brushed against Nami's breasts. Already weakened, he felt his eyes close. Gasping and stiffening, she looked down at where his arm had brushed before looking behind her, "Oi, don't you dare fall asleep!" If he fell off at that speed...

"Uh," he blinked, forcing himself awake, against all his instincts. But it wasn't going well.

"Wake up, Luffy!" she yelled over her shoulder, looking ahead a few times. "Just hold on, okay!?"

He sat up straight. "Right..."

"I wonder if we're close. How are we supposed to find Robin?" she whispered to herself with a soft frown.

Luffy tried to focus on how he could possibly beat that man. How did he keep him from stealing his water? How could he keep him from turning into sand?

"How are we supposed to find Robin!?" she called over her shoulder to him.

"Merry will find her," Luffy said. "He's... good like that." What was he supposed to do?

"Oh, right," Nami said, turning back to Merry and leaning forward again. "Find Robin for us, Merry~!" Merry kept running, following Robin's trail.

xxxx

Looking around, Gen frowned at the town they'd arrived at. Could Nami and that brat possibly be here? Then he looked over when he saw a group of men ride into the town with a young girl, his eyes narrowing slightly. Sanji's eyes followed Gen's, his brow twitched when he saw the girl struggling. He started walking towards the group.

"Wait," Gen said, putting a hand to his chest, "there's too many of them. Let's just wait and see where they go."

"There they are, Luffy!" Nami called over her shoulder, the town and Croc and his men coming into view. "Merry, slow down a bit!" she called down to the horse, and Merry obeyed.

Luffy glared at the kidnappers. Then he frowned. Where was Robin?

"Merry?" Nami questioned, "Did you look for Robin, or did you follow Croc instead?" She frowned softly, looking up at Croc before Luffy behind her. "Well, either way... he's there. We have to get Vivi back."

"Right." Luffy's heart began fluttering, his breath faltering in remembering what had happened last time. He squashed the feelings down. He wasn't afraid...

"It'll be okay this time. He can't do that again. We know that water brings you back. So, don't be afraid, okay?" she said, frowning a little deeper.

"Yeah..." He leaned back and cracked his knuckles. "I can take him this time..."

"Right, just keep thinking that. Follow behind them slowly, Merry. We don't want them seeing us just yet," she said, keeping her eyes on Croc, and Merry again obeyed her.

Luffy couldn't think of what he could do. The energy attacks, the stretching, nothing was working.

"Where are they going?" Nami whispered to herself as they rode up towards the town, but then Nami said, "Merry, stop." The group of men had stopped. "Now's our chance, Luffy."

"Gottcha." Luffy climbed down from the horse, walking towards the kidnappers. Without making a sound, he stretched his arm to punch the sand man in the head.

Being caught off guard, the punch hit its mark, sending Croc flying off his horse since he hadn't dismounted yet, and Vivi screamed, trying to keep a hold of the horse and cover her head at the same time.

Gen's eyes widened. Then he pointed at Luffy and yelled, "It's that bastard, who took Nami!"

Luffy's stretched arm grabbed Vivi and threw her to Nami as his arm snapped back. He placed himself between the girls and the kidnappers.

Nami's eyes widened as the girl landed on her and poor Merry. "Aah!"

"Kya!" Vivi screamed, but was fine regardless as Nami righted herself.

"What the—!?" Gen exclaimed, watching as he took the girl and moved her elsewhere. "He took another girl!" he exclaimed, still pointing at Luffy.

"That's it! I'm kicking his ass!" Sanji exclaimed as he started forward.

"Get Princess Vivi out of here!" Luffy called to behind him.

"R-Right! Merry, go!" Nami yelled down to the horse.

"Wait, did he just ...?" Gen questioned, gaping at Luffy. "Nah ... couldna been ..."

Getting up with a growl and spotting the blond man running at his prey, Croc's arm turned into sand before he whipped it out, ramming it into Sanji before rushing at Luffy and knocking him back far with his shoulder.

Gasping as she saw this, Nami's eyes widened before Merry could go. "Luffy!" But then she cried out when Croc appeared before her. "_Luffy_!" she cried a little more frantically while holding the girl down.

"Wait, that is Nami!" Gen yelled, looking down at Nojiko. "It has to be her!"

Luffy rolled with the blow and fired his gattling spell at crocodile. "Nami! Get out of here!"

Nojiko ran over to him. "Sanji-san, are you all right!" She could tell if he was badly hurt. She looked up, and saw Nami with the other girl. "Nami!"

"Nami!" Gen cried, running towards Nami, seeing that she was in danger.

"_Merry_!" Nami cried, feeling scared of the big man. Merry jumped backwards, several feet, when Crocodile burst into sand, and turned to run.

Nami and Vivi both cried to the horse actually jumping. The sand surrounded the horse, however, and lifted him up, and shaking off the girls before tossing the horse aside and at a tree. Both screamed, hitting the ground, and Nami looked up with a gasp. "_Merry_!" she screamed, scrambling to her feet to run at the horse, but sand quickly formed around her, making her scream again. "Kyaaa!" she cried, trying to struggle.

Suddenly, dark clouds began to roll in, rumbling with thunder as lightning coursed through it violently. "_Let me go_!" she screamed, her eyes glowing faintly to the magic and emotion stirring within her.

"What the—!?" Gen stopped and looked up at the sudden storm formation.

Before Merry could hit a net of arms grew from the surrounding buildings and trees, catching the horse.

"Nami..." Nojiko gasped, at her sister's glowing eyes and the storm whipping around as wind surged around them.

Luffy appeared behind Crocodile, his arms with bladed edges to them. "What she said!" His lower body was twisted up, and he released the tension, his bladed arms spinning and cutting into Crocodile.

"Guwah!" Croc called out, having not expected that attack either, his blood drenching Luffy's arms. Growling, he quickly turned around, and grabbed Luffy's throat, and the sand around Nami disappeared, dropping her to the ground.

"Aah!" she cried again before looking up and grinning, glad that Merry was safe. "Robin!" But then she looked over at Luffy and frowned. "Luffy!"

Robin smiled down at Nami, from the roof she was standing on. She had her arms crossed, and more arms appeared on Crocodile, prying his hands open. Luffy jumped away from Crocodile, punching the man in the face with his blood soaked hands.

"Guwah!" Croc cried out, looking a bit confused as he looked back down at Luffy while stumbling back. How had that hit him?

What the hell was going on here? Was Nami actually concerned for the brat? Who were all these other people? And most importantly of all... what the hell was she wearing!? Nojiko blinked. She'd have to ask Nami where she could buy an outfit like hers.

Luffy stared at his fists. How...? The he looked up at Crocodile. "Gottcha," he said and grinned.

Scowling and growling, Croc lunged forward to punch Luffy, catching his chin. Luffy flew back, flipping in the air, and punching Crocodile in the face again. "Gngh!" Croc grunted as he skidded back across the dirt.

Gasping, Nami quickly got up and ran for Vivi, taking her hand. "We need to get you away from here!" Seeing this, Croc's arm turned to sand and aimed it at Nami, hitting her against a tree. "Aaah!" she cried before hitting the floor.

"Nami-san!" Vivi cried, going to her side to see if she was okay.

Scowling a bit, Nami looked up at Croc and said, "I'm fine."

"Nami!" Luffy cried, but then glared at Crocodile. "That's it. You're going down." His hand formed into a blade. "If I can hit you, then I can cut you."

Robin made a chain of arms to pull Nami away from Crocodile. Gasping and her eyes widening as she was pulled away, Nami grabbed a hold of Vivi to get dragged away with her. "Aah...!"

Growling, Croc turned to sand and surrounded Luffy, but then appeared behind him and hit him away. Luffy's head hit the corner of a house and he blacked out.

"Luffy!" Nami cried, before turning to Croc with a scowl. "Damn it!" Standing up then, she ran straight for Croc.

"Nami, what the hell're you doing!?" Gen cried, but Nami couldn't hear him. She had brought two fingers to her lips and began to mutter a much more harsher incantation, the clouds once again forming around them and wind beginning to blow more roughly around everyone. "What the hell is going on!?" Gen yelled, staring at Nami before backing up towards Nojiko as the sky began to flash brightly with lightning.

Nami's eyes slowly began to glow with a soft blue, and the winds around her kicked up her thick braid and whipped at her flesh, but she did not seem to notice. She lifted her fingers into the air, and Croc scowled at her, starting to turn to sand. "Lightning Tempo!" she cried, cutting her arm down towards the ground quickly and aiming right at Croc. A bright light flashed as a crack of lightning came down, striking right where Croc was standing.

"Guwaaaaah!"

"What...? How...?" Nojiko stared at her sister in shock.

"What the hell!?" Gen exclaimed, gaping at where Croc had been standing before quickly looking over at Nami.

"Stay back Princess," Robin said, running towards Luffy and Nami. Arms grew out of her right arm, forming together into a larger hand, she punched Crocodile with it.

Croc cried out as he felt his skin crack and shatter a bit as he flew back. Looking down, he saw his skin shining. It had all turned to glass. "What ...?"

Robin smiled, and more arms grew out of Crocodile, pinning him down. As long as she could hold him until Luffy and Nami were ready, then she would have done her part.

Turning around with a frown, Nami ran straight for Luffy. "Luffy!" she cried, skidding to a stop and dropping to her knees. "Oi, Luffy, wake up!" she said, giving his cheek a smack.

"What... What is she doing? Sh-Shouldn't she be running away from the kid?" Gen questioned before breaking into a run towards her. "Na-chan!"

Stiffening a bit to the name, Nami quickly looked up, seeing Gen and her sister. "Gen-san! Nojiko! Wha-What are you doing here!?"

"Nami," Nojiko yelled. "Get away from him, we came to rescue you!"

Luffy's eyes snapped open. He stared down at his blood soaked hands. "Nami! I've got it! He can't turn to sand if he's wet... the blood on my hands. You have to make it rain on him!"

Blinking a bit at them, she then looked down at Luffy. "M-Make it rain? Wha ...?" Then she perked and smiled. "You're right! It has to be the water! Okay! But you have to get up first!" she said, standing up and turning to Croc, who was already getting up.

He made his skin crack away so it would turn back to sand, noticing the people to the side. Panting slightly, Nami said, "Nojiko, Gen-san, stay back!"

"Eh?" Gen questioned, but stopped and grabbed Nojiko's arm.

Nami then muttered a slightly longer incantation before pointing her fingers to the sky. "Rain Tempo!" The clouds that had already formed from her earlier attack opened up and poured rain down on everyone.

Robin's arms dissipated as Crocodile turned back into sand. Luffy pulled himself up and smirked when it started raining. He muttered an incantation and his fingers sharpened into little arrowheads. "Rubber Finger Bolts!" he yelled, stretching his fingers at Crocodile, the sharpened projectiles flying like crossbow bolts.

Croc quickly dodged to the side, knowing he wouldn't be able to change. They had figured him out already. Once she'd made the rain fall, Nami then ran over to Vivi. "Vivi, come on!" she said, taking her hand and running towards Gen, Sanji and Nojiko. "Gen-san, Nojiko, get her to safety!" she said, pushing Vivi towards them.

"What about you!?" Gen yelled, grabbing her arm, but she shook her head and pulled her arm back.

"No, I have to stay! I have to stay with him! You go!" she said before turning and running back to Luffy, leaving Gen blinking.

"What ...?"

"Nami..." Nojiko frowned. What was her sister thinking?

Luffy stretched his arms, missing Crocodile on both sides. On the other side, he wove his fingers together, the insides sharp, creating a razor sharp net that was coming right at Crocodile from behind. Surging forward towards Luffy instead, Croc's arm came up, ready to strike at him as his other came up from the bottom to ram into Luffy's gut, and then it came down over his head to slam him into the ground.

Coming to a stop, Nami gasped and stared at them. "Luffy ..."

Coughing up blood when he hit the ground, Luffy groaned, but then his fingers disconnected and his arms snapped back into place. "Spear!" he yelled, kicking Crocodile with both his legs.

"Ngh!" Croc grunted as he was sent flying into a building.

"Aaah! You're doing it again, you idiot!" Nami yelled at Luffy. "Can't you be a little careful, damn it!?"

"Careful?" Luffy jumped to his feet. "I'm in the middle of a fight here!"

"You're destroying the town, like you did mine!" she yelled, getting angry and the clouds returning.

He paused. "Good point... this really shouldn't be so hard. I've been getting plenty of sleep," he suddenly grinned, "which means I can probably do this!" He squatted, activating the full rubber body spell. His legs pumping, and his skin started to glow a deep pink. "Gear... Second!"

She blinked and asked, "Eh? Wha-What is that?"

He smirked at her and said, "Watch." Then he disappeared.

Gasping, she gaped at where he'd been standing. "L-Luffy?" she questioned before looking around for him with a softer frown. "Luffy!"

"Guwaaah!" Croc cried out as something hit him, but he couldn't see where the attacks were coming from.

"Wha ...?" Nami quickly turned to look towards him.

Gen and the others ran away from the scene with Vivi, but then turned back to watch. "What is she doing? They don't seem to get along, but why he she helping him? Why is she staying with him?" he said, frowning at her deeply.

"I don't know, and after he kidnapped her," Nojiko said, looking just as confused.

"Kidnapped?" Vivi whispered, her eyes growing wide.

Fists rained down on Crocodile, coming from impossible directions. It was as if he were encased in a dome of fists, all beating him to a bloody pulp. Croc screamed and cried out, having no idea what was happening or how to stop it, and soon, he couldn't think any long as he passed out. The moment Crocodile fell unconscious, Robin had him covered in arms, effectively cocooning him.

Grinning then and even looking a little impressed, Nami clapped her hands together and laughed, "Aha!"

Luffy kicked up a small whirlwind of dust and steam as he appeared next to Nami, a satisfied grin on his face. There was a sizzling sound as his skin started to turn its natural shade again. He took a deep breath and released it as steam. Then he turned and smiled at Nami.

Nami gasped, her face pickening a bit before she pursed her lips and slapped a fist into his head. "You were still careless!"

Seeing that the enemy was down, Gen took off running towards Nami. He had to get her away from that boy. Luffy collapsed to the floor. "Owww..." he muttered into the ground. He'd taken a lot of damage in the three battles, and with the strain of Gear Second, he was at the end of his strength.

Nojiko and Sanji ran after Gen, and Nojiko called to her sister, "Nami!"

Blinking, Nami looked over just as Gen reached her and grabbed her to pull behind him. "Now's our chance, now that he's weak!" Gen exclaimed, taking steps back.

"Wha-Wha-Wha—?" Nami stuttered, blinking at Gen's back.

"Let's get out of here!" Gen said, pushing Nami away from Luffy.

"Wa-Wait a minute, Gen," Nami said as she was pushed away.

"What do you mean; 'Wait a minute'?" Nojiko took Nami's arm. "We finally have a chance to take you home, and you want to stay?"

Sanji walked up to Luffy, scoffed, and kicked him in the gut. "Shitty kidnapping bastard," he muttered between his cigarette and closed lips.

Luffy groaned, but was unable to turn his head to see who'd kicked him. Was probably Nami anyway...

Seeing this, Nami stiffened and gasped, her eyes flaring for a split second before she ripped herself away from Gen. "Stop that!" she said, going over and shoving Sanji away. "He almost died, you know!" she yelled at him before squatting down next to Luffy. "Oi, are you still alive in there?"

"Unnnhhh..." he groaned. "You didn't kick me?"

She snorted and grinned down at him. "I wish it'd been me, but no, that wasn't me, you idiot. You probably over did it."

"What's the meaning of this, Nami!?" Gen asked, frowning down at her deeply.

Vivi frowned softly down at Nami and Luffy as she approached with the others, having seen the blonde man kick Luffy. What was going on?

"Thank you..." he muttered. "Didn't break the village this time... most of it..."

Nojiko frowned down at her sister. Then she blinked. No way...it wasn't possible...

Nami grinned then. "No, I guess not. You did good." Then she grabbed his arm. "Come on, you need to rest. Maybe we can find an inn somewhere," she said, trying to get him to stand.

"Okay," he said and made an effort to stand up, but slipped on the wet cobblestones.

Gasping, she reacted, wrapping her arms around him to steady him, but completely forgot about her breasts which pressed into him. Luffy blinked before his eyes slid shut, unable to fight the call of sleep with his injuries, and he started snoring. Nojiko was surprised and asked, "Did he just...?"

"Oh, shit!" Nami cursed, trying to hold up his weight. "Forgot, damn it!" Then she looked up at Gen. "Help me carry him to an inn! I'll explain it once we get him into a bed!"

Robin laughed. "I'll take Scar-san to the authorities, while you take Mage-kun to an inn."

"All right, Robin. By the way, this is my sister, Nojiko, and this is Gen-san and Sanji-kun," she said, nodding to each as Gen helped her lift up the sleeping mage, but was frowning deeply. "You guys, this is Robin."

"Mellorine~!" Sanji twirled. "Please allow me to accompany you on your quest~!"

"Okay," Robin said, smiling.

"... Wait... really?" Sanji asked, blinking at her.

"Ee, you can carry him for me," Robin said with a chuckle as she turned and walked away. Sanji practically floated, as he lifted up Crocodile, still wrapped in Robin's arms and followed her.

Nami put her fingers to her lips and a shrill whistle sounded. Merry trotted to the group, from where, no one could quite be sure. Nojiko's eyes widened. "Fast horse."

"Merry's special. Aren't you, boy~?" Nami cooed, petting his head before she and Gen lifted Luffy over the horse "Follow me, Merry," she said, and Merry obeyed.

"Wow, he understands?" Nojiko asked, eyeing the horse with interest.

"Yup," Nami replied with a grin as she looked over her shoulder to Merry. "Anyways, I guess I can explain things now, instead of waiting to get to the inn." She then went on to explain about the deal they'd made about making money and even went into detail about the jobs and finding out she actually had magical abilities. "And actually," she started, "this was our last job. After this job, we'll have enough money, and I could go home, but... I... made a promise..."

"What kind of promise?" Gen asked, frowning deeply and not liking the sound of that.

"Just now... you saw how he fell asleep, right?" Nami asked, turning to them.

"Yeah," Nojiko replied and frowned. What did that have to do with anything?

Her cheeks erupted into a blush, and then she said, "Well... there's a problem with my magical abilities. You see... I—"

"Beautiful angel, are you hurt in any way?"

"Can I help you? Did that asshole hurt you?"

"I was here first!"

Sighing, Nami turned to them with a smile and said, "I'm fine. Please go away."

"Anything you say!" They ran off.

Sighing again, Nami said, "That's the problem... and... that's not all. He has a curse on him... Luffy I mean. He can't sleep at all."

"He looks to be sleepin' to me," Gen said, blinking at Luffy's sleeping form.

"That's because... he touched my breasts..."

"_What_!?"

Nojiko stared, and then she finally said, "I can't tell if that's meant to be serious... or if he's just really smooth."

"Ah, no... I'm very serious when I say that my breasts make him be able to sleep. It has something to do with my magical ability being able to nullify the curse. I promised I would help and let him find out why, and at the same time... he's able to sleep... while I'm around..."

"So..." Nojiko started, "is that why he didn't destroy the town this time?"

Luffy groaned and started to stir, muttering something. "S-Something like that-Ah, Luffy? You awake?" she asked, walking around to his other side. "You say something?"

"N..i..." he groaned. "W..ch...t..."

"Eh?" she questioned with a frown. "What?" she asked, but he didn't say anything coherent after that, slumping over again. Her frown deepened a bit, but was still soft before she shrugged, and then they finally found an inn. She checked in and she and Gen carried him up the stairs to lay him down. The rooms she'd asked for had two singles each and one with a double...

"Ooh, here we go!" she said as she and Gen placed him onto the double bed. Huffing, she dusted her hands off together before turning to Gen and her sister. "There's one more thing..."

"What's that?" Nojiko asked her sister. Things hadn't quite turned out how she'd thought. The man they'd planned on having to fight to free her sister was helpless, but instead it was Nami who refused to leave.

Nami cleared her throat, her cheeks flaring again, and then she said, "I have to sleep with him..."

"_Whaaaat_!?" Gen bellowed, his entire face reddening in anger as he scowled, and then he lunged forward to murder the boy in his sleep.

However, Nami threw herself on him. "Wait, Gen-san, don't!"

Gen suddenly blinked before smiling brightly and said, "Aww~! Little, Na-chan~! You're so cute~! Anything you say, little one~!"

"Eh!?" Nami blinked up at him. "You too!?"

"Him too, what?" Nojiko frowned. "Wait... Those men outside... You did that?"

"Not on purpose!" Nami said, frowning at her sister deeply. "And it only works on people without magical abilities. I-It got me into a lot of trouble at the last town, but... L-Luffy... he... he protected me... so... nothing happened," she said before looking up at Gen. "Look, we just sleep, okay? I promise. Nothing happens. He has to stay in contact," she blushed darkly, "with my breasts in order to stay asleep, or he just wakes up, and he needs the sleep in order to have more power."

"More power, huh?" Nojiko raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure he does."

Nami laughed nervously, though it came out as a bunch of 'heh's as her face reddened further. "Yeah, he is a pervert, but he keeps his hands to himself... mostly..." she said, shifting her eyes to the side.

"Mostly?" Nojiko crossed her arms under her breasts, pushing them up.

She held up her hands then, the nervous smile still there. "H-He hasn't hurt me at all though... so... H-He's... actually... pretty good about... protecting me... actually," she said, losing some of her nervousness then, but also her smile. Luffy's eyes blinked open. He groaned, shifting around in bed.

Perking a bit, Nami turned around to look down at him. "Ah, are you awake? You okay? I'm going to need to treat your wound's Luffy. And you should probably drink more water," she said, going over to his side more.

"Uhnn..." Luffy groaned. "Thank you..."

"Can you sit up?" she asked with a frown, reaching down to help him sit up, but then slid in behind him. "Just don't lean back," she said before helping him out of his robes. Nojiko and Gen could only stare at Nami, surprised with how careful of the mage she was.

"'Kay," he said and held himself up, breathing heavily. Once his robes slid off and his shirt was pulled off, he felt much freer. His body was covered in bruises, deep purple bruises, several which were almost black.

"Ouch, Luffy." Nami frowned deeply before looking up at Nojiko and said as she pointed to Luffy's bag. "Hand me that pack." Then she helped Luffy drink water from a cup.

Nojiko picked up the bag, which was heavier than it looked, and handed it to Nami. "Ugh," Luffy groaned and winced, but the cool water felt nice against his throat.

Setting the empty cup aside and taking the bag, Nami removed all the herbs and other weird ass stuff he had in there and mixed it together to make a medicine before applying them to his open wounds and bruises. Luffy winced on contact with her hands. "Cold," he gasped. It stung, burned, froze, but underneath that all was the soothing feeling of her hands massaging his bruises. "Mmmh..." he hummed.

Yup, he definitely seemed to be enjoying this, the little twerp. Nojiko frowned at him.

"Don't be such a baby!" Nami hissed, adding pressure to the wound she was currently adding the ointment to.

"Mmmh..." he hummed, the pressure hurt a little bit, but overall was very soothing.

"What're you 'mmmh'-ing about!?" Nami said, frowning even deeper at him. Then she wrapped him up in bandages. "There, I'm done. Now go back to sleep," she said, pressing her chest into his back before slipping out from behind him and letting him fall back into the bed.

When Luffy fell back onto the bed, he was already asleep. Nojiko laughed and said, "Holy crap. That really works."

"I told you," she said, smiling at her sister. "He used a lot of magic. So, he needs to sleep. Plus, he's not all caught up yet," she said, wiping her hands on a towel.

"Caught up?" She blinked. "His magic level was influenced by this curse?"

"No, the amount of sleep he gets influences his magic level, or so I think. I'm not really sure," Nami said with a shrug. "He told me the reason he was careless with our village was because he didn't have all his power, because he wasn't sleeping..."

"Really?" Nojiko said skeptically. "Then why the hell did he take the job if he wasn't at full strength?"

"Mm, I dunno." Nami shrugged, looking down at Luffy.

"Hmph," Nojiko grumbled. "He's got a lot to answer for when he wakes up." She uncrossed her arms, and punched her left palm with her fist.

Nami looked over at her and smiled nervously. "Ah... yeah... I guess so. In any case, after he rests, we need to get the princess back to Mariejoie. You can share one of the rooms with her, and Gen-san and Sanji-kun can share a room... Robin will probably get her own single... And... I feel like I'm forgetting someone... Oh! Zoro!" she exclaimed, running out of the room and down the stairs, but then paused when she saw a bloodied looking figure standing in the doorway of the inn, the host, looking quite terrified.

"Ah! Are you all right!?" Nami exclaimed, running up to him.

"Peachy," Zoro muttered, but then fell face first.

"Oh!" Nami said, a hand flying to her mouth before going to him.

Nojiko followed Nami down the stairs. "What's up with him?" she asked, coming up behind Nami.

"Ah, this is Zoro. We left him behind to fight another man. I was so wrapped up with everything that I completely forgot about him" she said, looking up. "Gen-san, help me, please."

"Aah, right~!" he said, going down to help her carry Zoro up.

"Oh, I guess he will need another room," she said, turning to the host, who nodded quickly and threw Nojiko a set of keys.

Luffy shifted in his sleep and groaned. He was having another nightmare. "Nami!" he suddenly yelled, sitting up in his bed.

"Eh?" Nami questioned with a few blinks before pursing her lips. "Idiot," she muttered before hurrying up and getting Zoro into the bed. Then she rushed off back towards the room. "What're you yelling about in here!?"

"Eh? Nami?" Luffy questioned. He was breathing heavily. "Sorry... I..."

"You just can't sleep at all when I'm not around, can you!? You're so hopeless, you idiot! I need to treat Zoro's wounds," Nami said, going over to his things. "I'll help you sleep after that," she said before leaving.

"Eh?" Luffy blinked. "Zoro's back?"

Going into Zoro's room, Nami then treated his injuries before leaving him to sleep, and then went back to Nojiko. "I'm... going to go ahead and go to bed. The idiot can't sleep long without me there," she said, flushing slightly and not meeting her gaze.

Nojiko, standing in the doorway, tried to figure out what was going on between her sister and her kidnapper. "Yeah," she nodded. "Good night."

Just then, Robin and Sanji walked into the inn, and Robin looked around, trying to find the rest of their group. Robin smiled, hearing them talking above and said, "Ah, up there." Then she climbed up the stairs to where she heard Nami.

Sanji frowned, walking up to them with Robin. Why was Nami sleeping with him? He glared. Nothing about any of this made any sense. Robin walked up to Nami and Nojiko. "I dropped off Scar-san at the authorities. His name was Crocodile. Turns out there was a bounty on his head."

"Oh yeah?" Nami smiled. "Did you collect it? Ah, and there might be another man down the road, the one Zoro defeated. Zoro's resting in there," she said, thumbing into Zoro's room. "I haven't gotten a room for you yet, Robin. I didn't know if you wanted to share the room with Vivi and Nojiko. We could ask for a cot to be brought up."

"I think we can afford another room," Robin said and held out a bag.

"Ooh..." Nami exclaimed before beaming. "How much was he worth?" she asked, taking the bag and looking inside.

"Three thousand gold pieces," Robin said, smiling.

Nojiko's eyes widened. She'd never even seen that much money in one place. "That's great! That's like... seven hundred and fifty gold pieces each with Zoro too~!" Nami said, grinning happily down at the bag. "Plus we might get more for the other man, if he has a bounty." But then she frowned, looking back up at them. "Ah, but... do you mind going to tell the authorities about him? Luffy needs his rest and can't seem to get it unless I'm there."

"Of course," Robin said, heading back down the stairs, but then she turned to Sanji. "Coming?"

"Yes~!" Sanji exclaimed happily.

"Thanks, Robin, Sanji-kun~!" Nami said, waving them off before sighing and turning to her sister. "Well, good night. I'll see you in the morning."

"Ah ... I was wondering..."

"Eh?" Nami turned to see Vivi, her expression changing slightly. "Wondering?"

"I-If... Luffy-san was okay?" Vivi asked, wringing her fingers a bit with a soft frown.

"Oh, he's just fine... He ain't dead anyways... You should rest too," Nami said, walking passed the girl, but not really acknowledging her much in any way.

Luffy looked up when Nami came into the room. "Ah, ready for bed?" He smiled at her.

Nojiko patted Vivi on the shoulder. "Come, we should let them get their _rest_." She emphasized the word 'rest'.

Vivi flushed darkly as she watched Nami disappear into a room, which Luffy's voice could be heard inside. "Th-They... sleep together?"

"Apparently, he has a curse," Nojiko said. "He can only sleep if she sleeps in the same bed as him."

"Oh!" Vivi exclaimed, flushing a little harder.

Nami sighed before going to her bag to get her nightdress and said, "Yes, now turn around."

"'Kay," Luffy said, rolling onto his side, wincing at the pressure put on his wounds.

Nami quickly changed before going over to the bed and climbing in behind him. "All right, c'mere..." Luffy shifted over so that his back was in contact with her. "Good night, you idiot," she muttered before settling in.

"Night... scary lady," Luffy murmured, closing his eyes. "Thanks..."

She snorted, but smiled anyways and said, "Stupid pervert... you're welcome." Luffy was asleep. Sighing, Nami then closed her eyes, but didn't find it right away. Her body was sore.

Nojiko glance at the shorter girl after they passed Nami and Luffy's door. "Why do you ask anyway?" She smirked. "Jealous?"

"Ah, no! Of course not!" Vivi said, smiling nervously and holding up her hands.

"Really?" Nojiko asked and laughed.

"Mm, they're a bit odd, and they argue a lot, but ... they do seem to care about one another... in a weird... kind of way," Vivi explained, her cheeks still flushed.

"Very weird," Nojiko agreed. "Considering..."

"Considering?" Vivi asked, looking at her as they entered the room together.

Nojiko glanced down at the younger woman. She didn't know, apparently. "Well..." she debated if she should tell, but decided that she didn't owe the mage anything. "He did kidnap her from our home, after all."

Vivi froze, staring up at her in shock. She had thought she heard them right before, but hearing it now so bluntly, she didn't know what to think. "Wha-What?"

"We hired him to take out a sorcerer that was tyrannizing our village, but when he did so, he also destroyed our entire village. Nami refused to pay him, to make up for the cost of rebuilding the village, and when she did that he kidnapped her."

Vivi clamped her mouth down. "Mmm..." And then she frowned softly, "But," she lowered her head, "h-he seems nice though, and... she doesn't seem like... she's been kidnapped. And he did help me," she said, her cheeks flushing again.

Nojiko shrugged and fell into a bed. "All I know is that it's very complicated. Apparently, she doesn't mind him that much, and they made a deal to earn enough money together so that he could get his pay, and she has enough to help rebuild our village."

"Oh, well," Vivi smiled a bit, "th-that sounds more like him." But then she perked, blushing more as she held up her hands. "But, of course, I don't know much about him at all!"

"Oh?" Nojiko said skeptically. "You don't?"

She tucked a strand of her long blue hair behind her ear. "I-I... got to ride with him, and, um... I-I s-saw a bit. Maybe we should sleep, huh?" she said, turning towards her bed, beet red.

"Sure," Nojiko said, getting more comfortable on her bed and pulling the covers out from under her. "So you're a princess, huh?"

"Mm, yes," Vivi replied, turning her bed down for the night.

"I see," Nojiko said and yawned.

Vivi got into bed with a sigh. Oh well ...

**Authors' Notes:**

Con: Huh, so that's what happened... I know, at least, but you have no idea, do you? X)

Darth: Uh…maybe?

Con: Lies... Well, one things is for sure... We kept with tradition. They go to sleep at the end of the chapter, and then wake up in the next... Wonder how they will wake up this time... No, really, I do wonder, because I forgot. o.o

Darth: Yeah I can't remember at all. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Con: I guess so... Anyways, sorry for holding out on your guys. xD I got some requests to finish it, and so decided to give it a read.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter. :)


	13. Chapter 13: They Bicker Endlessly

**Authors' Notes:**

Con: This chapter took FOREVER TO EDIT! D:

Darth: And yet, somehow it's up sooner than the last one

Con:... Don't make me hurt you... D: I had REASONS as to why it took so long... ~.~ I was busy... ~.~

Darth: Busy, sure.

Con: I have been! D: You know, writing a book! D: Well, more like editing it... ~.~

Darth: Well, I've been busy being a productive member of society…well almost. I work in customer services. Sigh, that's no life.

Con: Nope, it's a job. o.o Mines a job too, only better. X)

Darth: Well, at least I have money now. For the first time in my life.

Con: -.- Not like I won't get any for my hard work. X( Anyways, enough chit chat. xD Hope you guys enjoy this chapter... ~.~

Darth: Quite.

**Charmed**

**Chapter 13: They Bicker Endlessly**

Luffy moaned in his sleep, burying his face further into Nami's neck. Stirring a bit from the movement and noise, Nami blinked her eyes opened and stiffened. There was a number of things she felt, that she was about to freak out about. First of all, he was spooning her, and as she could most definitely feel, quite closely. His leg was between hers, and his hand was on her bared thigh, close to her hip with her nightdress ridden all the way up to her hip. Then he had another arm under her, wrapped around to the other side and gripping her breast. Then, there was also the fact that his face was buried deep within the back of her neck. She could feel his hot breath against her skin.

However, instead of freaking, she just sighed and relaxed. '_Oh, fuck it_...' No matter how many times they woke up, something happened. It just happened. She just didn't give a shit anymore. It's not like either of them did it on purpose... at least... she didn't think he did ...

Luffy's eyes blinked open, and he gasped when he became aware of their position. He jerked, trying to pull away from her, but finding parts of him trapped. Sighing deeply again, Nami just turned to glare at him for disturbing her. She'd been trying to go back to sleep.

Luffy misunderstood her glare. "Sorry... I didn't... mean to be in that position."

"I'm trying to go back to sleep. So, shut up," she said, turning back around and closing her eyes.

"Oh," he said and blinked, "sorry..." He laid himself back down and closed his eyes, moving his limbs from anywhere offensive.

Though, he kept a slight contact with her breast. He still needed sleep, and judging by the lack of light shining through the window, it was still late. Sighing again, she relaxed back and squirmed a bit for better comfort, causing her rear to press into his front and her breast more into his hand. He tensed, but when she didn't move in a threatening way, he relaxed and just decided to enjoy the feel of her body against his.

xxxx

When the sun hit her face, Nami blinked a bit, realizing that she'd turned around in her sleep, and her front was now pressed into his, and her face buried into his neck, she had also wrapped a leg around him, and was now beginning to wonder just how the hell she brought herself to these positions in her sleep...

Luffy groaned in his sleep, and slightly tightened his arms around Nami. Pursing her lips a bit, she moved away from him, or tried to, before pressing a hand into his face and said, "Oi... leggo... I'm ready to wake up now."

He groaned and opened his eyes. He lifted his hand to pull Nami's hand out of his face. "Good morning to you too," he muttered and yawned.

"Just leggo already," she said, removing his other arm before sitting up and dropping her legs off the bed. Then she lifted her arms up into the air and stretched.

Luffy yawned again, sat up, stretched, and winced. His injuries were still hurting, but on the other hand, he glanced over at Nami. He could see her breasts, even from behind her back, the way she was stretching. After awhile, she finally stood up and walked over to get dressed. "I need a bath," she muttered, more to herself, but mainly because she had an audience.

Luffy tried to climb out of bed, but found he didn't have the strength. "I," he sighed, "I think I'll stay in bed for a little longer." He leaned back into bed, staring up at the ceiling. His stomach growled, and he really wished he could get out of bed to get some food.

Looking up at him with a frown, she just nodded before heading into the private bathroom. She removed her nightgown then, setting a few pairs of dirty underwear to soak in the sink before filling the tub for her bath. She hadn't worn any, since most of them were dirty, and her leather pants were too tight anyway. She normally only wore underwear with her skirts and nightdress. She would just have to deal without any underwear until they dried.

After she had washed herself and her hair, Nami stood up in the tub, the water sloshing as she wrung it from her hair. Then she grabbed a towel to dry herself with. Choosing a new outfit, another pair of leather pants and bodice that showed off her flat stomach, but instead in a dark blue-ish color, she then braided her hair, wrung out her now clean underwear and walked out of the bathroom.

"Did you want to try and bathe?" she asked him without looking at him. "Might help your wounds to soak in hot water."

"Sounds like a good idea," Luffy replied, trying to get up and succeeded in getting his legs over the side of the bed. He tried to stand up, but flopped back down onto the bed. "Little help, please?"

She snorted softly before going over to grab his hands and help him to his feet. Then she wrapped one of his arms around her neck and her own around him to help him towards the bathroom. Once inside, she set him down onto the toilet before running the water for him.

A blush flared into existence on Luffy's face when he got an excellent view down Nami's top and again down her pants. She wasn't wearing underwear again. He tried desperately to keep any physical reactions under control to that thought as she started filling the tub. Once it was full, she then helped him back to his feet before turning to leave. "I'll wait for you. If you need help, which I really hope you don't, I'll help you," she muttered a little disgruntledly before leaving and closing the door behind her.

"'Kay," Luffy said as he walked over to the bathtub, stumbled, bashed his shins against the side and landed face first in the tub.

Jolting straight up, Nami quickly turned to the loud noise before frowning and going to the door to knock. "Luffy? You all right in there?"

Luffy just managed to pull his head out of the water. "No—" His hands slipped, causing his head to fall back under water and the rest of his sentence to come out as air bubbles.

Her eyes widened slightly, and she quickly went in and gasped. "Luffy!" she cried, quickly pulling him out of the water. "Are you all right!?"

He coughed, spitting up water. "Not really..."

She frowned a little softer, but then smiled, not being able to help the bit of laughter that escaped her lips. "I see," she said and then helped him to the toilet to sit him down again. "Well, I... I guess I could help," she said, flushing a bit. "Think you could at least get your pants off? We could put soap into the bath, so I don't have to look at you, and wrap a towel around you to get you into the tub. We could use the one I just used, so it doesn't matter if it gets wet."

"Yeah, I can do that," Luffy said, starting to take his pants off. Once he'd done so, he took the towel and wrapped it around his lower body.

While he did that, Nami poured soap into the water and began to stir it to make it bubble up. "You ready?" she asked, her face hot with a blush.

"Yeah," he said, his face flushed at being practically naked around Nami, especially considering that she wasn't wearing any underwear.

Turning around then, flushing a little darker, she then went to him to help him up and into the tub, "Just go nice and slow, okay?"

"Okay," Luffy said and walked over to the tub with Nami's help. When he started to climb in he slipped, he let go of his towel to catch himself on the side. As he lowered into the water, the towel came undone and floated away. "Ah..."

Nami's face erupted into a deep blush, but she quickly averted her eyes and helped him lower himself into the tub while clearing her throat. After he was in, she grabbed the towel, still beet red and wrung it out before hanging it to dry.

"Thanks, Nami," he said and sighed, leaning back in the water. His body still needed water. The warm water was perfect, soaking into his body and soothing his bruises. "Thirsty," he muttered.

"Mm, I'll go get you some water then. You'll be okay now, right?" she asked, frowning down at him.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," he said as he shifted a little. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she muttered, her voice a little softer than usually as she turned and left to get his cup to refill. When she was gone, Luffy closed his eyes and sighed contentedly. Then he started whistling a tune that randomly came to mind.

Grabbing the cup, she couldn't help the smile that formed from hearing his whistling and then she knocked on the door. "Luffy?"

"Yeah?" he said, stopping his whistling.

"Can I come back in? I have your cup," she called through the door, her cheeks flushing again.

"Sure," he replied and smiled.

Clearing her throat and trying to get rid of the smile, she then opened the door, looking towards him and his wet, muscled chest, before lowering her gaze and closing the door again. Going to the sink, she turned it on to fill the cup and then took it over to him.

"Thanks," he said, but then blinked and smiled. He didn't know why she was being so nice, but he appreciated it and was grateful. He took the cup from her and drank from it.

Blinking a bit, her eyes wandering a bit while he was distracted, she flushed a little harder before sitting and waiting to see if he wanted more.

"More please?" He held out the cup after he'd emptied it.

"Right," she said, focusing her eyes on the cup before filling it again.

Luffy took the cup again and drained it, handing it back to her. "Thanks," he said and smiled at her. "I think I'm almost done. Then we can get food."

"All right," she said, standing up. "I hope you can... wash yourself, right?" she asked, frowning a little nervously.

"Yeah," he said, starting to feel better. "Just don't let me slip and drown." He picked up the soap, lathered it up, and started rubbing it over his body.

Clearing her throat, she quickly looked away with a deeper flush and muttered, "R-Right..."

He rubbed his hair with the soap. Then he tried to lower himself into the water, but then paused. "Ah," he looked over at Nami, "could... could you help me with this?"

Biting her lip, she stood up, a bit stiffly before going to the tub. She was beginning to think he was enjoying this, but she asked, "What do you need?"

"Help me back up after I rinse off?"

"Yeah, okay. Just... give me your hand when you're ready to come back up," she said with a nod.

"'Kay," he said and slid under the water all the way to get his hair rinsed off. Holding his breath, he scrubbed the soap out of his hair. When he was done, he held his hand up out of the water, which she took immediately and pulled him back up. He coughed a little and wiped the water from his face and eyes. "Thanks," he said to Nami, wiping hair out of his face.

"Y-You're welcome..." Was it just her... or did he look nice with wet hair?

Luffy started pushing himself up, and then looked up at Nami. "Help?"

Biting her lip, she quickly turned to grab a towel before reaching down to pull him up and out of the water, quickly handing him the towel to cover himself with and averted her eyes. Luffy grabbed the towel, quickly wrapping it around himself, and then he said, "Just help me back to the bed. I should be able to dress myself."

"Okay," she said, quickly grabbing his pants, and then wrapping an arm around him. She flushed from touching his bare flesh, took him to seat him onto the bed and then turned around.

"Thanks," Luffy said and started putting on his clothes. As he put his shirt on, he rubbed his hands over where her bare skin had been touching his. He wouldn't mind feeling more of that... Wait, what?

"Are you done yet?" she asked, fidgeting a bit. It was a little unnerving to have him undressed around her for so long.

"Yeah," he said, leaving his robe off. "Let's get some food."

She nodded her head, turned back to him and wrapped her arm back around him to help him out and down the stairs, where the rest of the group was. "Ah, Nami-san, Luffy-san, good morning," Vivi called, giving a small smile to them.

"Ah, morning," Nami called with her own slight smile.

"You better have kept your hands to yourself, boy!" Gen cried, glaring at Luffy.

Nami's cheeks flared a bit, recalling she'd just helped him bathe, and then she said, "Everything was fine, Gen-san."

"I can barely move my hands," Luffy said and lifted his hands just barely, which flopped to the side. "See?"

Robin looked up from the tea she was drinking and said, "I was surprised it was so quiet in your room this morning."

"Yeah, well," Nami started, hoping no one noticed Luffy's wet hair... seeing as he just mentioned he couldn't move his hands and then she muttered, "Whatever..."

"Ooh, food!" Luffy called, when noticed the food the others were eating.

Pursing her lips, Nami sat him down before taking her own seat to eat as well. As Luffy started eating anything in sight, he started to noticeably regain strength. "Perhaps we need some more food," Robin said to a passing maid.

"Ah, yes, of course!" she said before scurrying off.

"Save some for me, idiot!" Nami said, smacking his hand, when it came close to a dish near her.

"Oww," he muttered through his full mouth, and kept grabbing food, keeping away from Nami's section.

Everyone just watched them. However, Nami was too busy making sure he didn't take her food as she also ate. "Glad to see you're back to normal, Mage-kun," Robin said and smiled, leaning her cheek in the palm of her hand.

"Mmh," he mumbled, but kept eating.

Nami snorted, but kept her head lowered to hide the slight flush on her cheeks. "How'd you sleep," Nojiko asked Nami, glaring at Luffy.

"I... slept all right. Only woke up... once," she said, trying hard not to blush.

"Oh?" Nojiko frowned. "What happened that one time?"

Nami shrugged and muttered, "Nothing..."

"Really..." Nojiko said and smirked.

"Yes, really," Nami replied, looking up to frown at her sister.

Nojiko shrugged. "If you say so," she said and went back to glaring at Luffy again, who ignored her.

"I do say so!" Nami huffed, and then continued to eat, and Gen just frowned deeply at the girls, Vivi fidgeting slightly as she looked between them all. "Anyways, has anyone checked on Zoro yet?"

"Ee," Robin said, "I checked on him this morning before coming down for breakfast."

"Is he doing better then?" Nami asked, looking up to frown at Robin.

"He was still asleep, but he looks like he's recovering," Robin replied with a smile.

**Nami** breathed a sigh of relief as she went back to eating and said, "That's good."

"He seems very tough," Robin said and even shrugged. "I don't think something like that could take him down." She stared into her tea.

Nami blinked at Robin then and then slowly said, "I... I see..." Then she cleared her throat with a smile and looked back down to eat. What was that supposed to mean?

After a while, the maid brought back more food, most of which got eaten by Luffy. Nami had eaten her fill, and so wiped her mouth with a napkin, and then set it down. Then she poured herself some more coffee and mixed in sugar and milk. Looking up to the others, she took a sip of her coffee and then said, "Well, I should check his wounds again after breakfast. Yours too, Luffy."

"Sounds good," Luffy said, finishing the food. He leaned back and patted his stomach. "Ah, that was good."

"Mm," Nami hummed before getting up. "Well, let's go check on Zoro first," she said, moving over to his side of the table to help him up.

"'Kay," he replied, leaning on her heavily as she helped him up and then up the stairs. Robin stood up as well, having finished her tea.

Nami headed to Zoro's room with Luffy and opened the door. She helped Luffy in and sat him down before looking over to the still sleeping man and muttered, "He can really sleep."

"I know," Robin said, coming in behind her. "He didn't wake up when I was in here earlier."

"Ah!" Nami jumped a bit surprise, not having expected the woman to follow. "Aah, well," she said, looking over at Zoro. "I better check his injuries then."

"Of course," Robin said, watching Nami check Zoro's injuries.

Going over to Zoro, Nami started to unwrap the bandages and check over the cuts and muttered, "Maybe I should have stitched some of these."

Luffy blanched and asked, "Stitch?"

"Some of these cuts are really deep," Nami said before reaching up to place the back of her hand to his forehead, "and he has a bit of a fever."

"How bad is the fever?" Robin asked.

Nami frowned and said, "He's fairly hot. May need to bathe him with cool water."

Yes, thought Robin, hot... "I can do that," Robin said and stood up to get some water from the bathroom. "You check the rest of his injuries."

Looking up at Robin, Nami blinked a bit before smiling and turning to whisper to Luffy, "I think she likes him." Then she looked back down to check over Zoro's other injuries.

"Eh?" Luffy blinked. "Really?" He looked where Robin had gone, and then down at Zoro. "Well, I guess that makes sense .He's strong looking... Girls like that, right?"

"Mm, yeah, I guess we do," Nami said, smiling as she worked over Zoro. "He really isn't too bad looking."

"Hmph," Luffy huffed, suddenly feeling grumpy. "He's always frowning."

Quirking her brow with a slight smile, she then looked over at him and said, "Not popular with the ladies much, huh? Is your little princess your first admirer?"

He stuck his tongue out at her. "She's not my princess," he muttered and harrumphed.

"Mm, hmm~!" she hummed, looking away from him and back to Zoro. "He has nice muscles too."

"Hmph," Luffy muttered. "They're just bigger. I can change the size of mine..."

"Could you now?" Nami asked with a giggle. "That wouldn't be natural though~! His are all natural~!" she said, giving him a wink.

"So? He's older than me, only difference," he growled and glared back at her.

"So, are you gonna look like this when you're older, Luffy?" she asked, smirking at him slyly, which made her look sexier.

"Maybe," Luffy said and flushed, feeling the room heat up. "Bulky muscles get in the way. I'm strong even without them, and a lot more flexible." He smirked.

She blinked at the flexible remark before frowning and looked away with a huff, but not before she flushed. "I see..."

Robin finally came out of the bathroom, carrying a cloth and pot of water. "Ah, Robin, I've just finished. After he's cleaned up, we'll need to stitch some of these wounds," Nami said, smiling up at her.

"Of course," Robin replied as she sat down on the side of the bed and started washing Zoro.

Nami smiled a little wider and sat back to watch. "Don't need any help?" she asked, giving a sideways glance towards Luffy.

Luffy snorted and turned away. "I'll be all right," Robin said, and then she finished up, glancing below his belt line for only a moment before setting the cloth aside.

"Ah, you know, he had a few injuries on his legs," Nami said, frowning down below. "I did check all over. Some of those might need stitching too."

"Right," Robin said, wiping down the legs. "Do you have thread?"

"Mm, yeah ..." she said, leaving the room for a moment, but then came back with a needle and thread as well as more bandages.

Robin set the cloth aside again and said, "How many of them need stitching?"

"Let's see," Nami said, reaching up and pointing to one on his arm, "This one here," then on his chest, "this one here," then one on his stomach, "this nasty one here," then another on his other arm, "here ..." and then two on his legs, "and these two here. I brought an extra needle. We can use this to disinfect them," she said, holding up some stuff Luffy had.

Robin nodded. "Okay," she said and took the other needle and some thread. "I'll start with the one on his chest."

"All right, then I will get his legs," Nami muttered, concentrating on the needle and thread in her hands. She disinfected the needle before jabbing it into the man's flesh, who didn't even flinch before sewing him up.

Robin slowly trailed her fingers along the edges of the cuts before starting to sew the flesh together. One of the cuts was particularly deep, so she had to sew inside before sealing the cut. Robin finished with the one on his chest, and then moved to the one on his stomach. Once she finished that one, trailing her fingers over his abs, she went to the last one on his arm.

After Nami had sewn the two deep, but small cuts on his legs, she then moved to his other side to start on the gash on his arm. Nami glanced over and happened to Robin do this, her cheeks flushing and a small smile forming. So, she really did like the man. That was interesting.

Once Robin had finished sewing the cut up, she set the needle aside, and looked down at the sleeping man. Nami finished the other cut on his arm before sitting back with a smile. "All done! Now, just got to apply more ointment and bandage him up, and then we can leave the man to his sleep."

"I can take care of that," Robin said, reaching for the bandages. "You check out Mage-kun's injuries."

Nami blinked at her, but then smiled quickly and knowingly before taking a glob of the ointment. "All right," she said before getting up to go to Luffy with a bit of a frown and said, "Strip."

Luffy glanced over at Robin. "In here?"

She pursed her lips, turning red and said, "Just your robes and shirt, you pervert!"

"Fine," Luffy muttered, but then stripped his robe and shirt.

"What's the difference anyways!? You came waltzing out without a shirt to eat breakfast the other day! Why would you have a problem in front of Robin, but not with me!? Not sure I feel comfortable about that..." she muttered, turning an even brighter red, when she remembered he'd had far less on, less than an hour ago.

Luffy flushed and muttered, "Fine, fine."

Giving a heavy purse to her lips, she then set to work, rubbing in the ointment into his wounds. Luffy hummed when she started rubbing his wounds. They didn't hurt as much, and it actually felt pretty good. "What're you hummin' about ...?" She muttered, still quite irritated.

"Huh? Nothing, sorry," he said and just looked away. She snorted then, but her cheeks reddened a bit more as she started working on the cuts on his chest. "Aah," he winced. It stung, but kinda in a good way.

"Don't be such a baby!" she said, rubbing it in a little harder.

"Ow!" he cried and glared at her. "Don't do that!"

"Do what? This!?" she said, rubbing it in harder.

"OW!" He swatted at her hands. "Knock it off!"

She stuck her tongue out at him and said, "You're such a baby!"

He stuck his tongue back at her. "And you're mean!"

"Yeah, well you're stupid!" she said, stomping her foot down onto the floor. Hearing the bickering, Gen blinked before looking over at Nojiko as they walked down the hall.

"And you're bossy," he said and rubbed his sore cuts. Robin glanced over at the bickering pair and laughed.

"You're a jerk!" she said, going to his back to roughly rub in the ointment there.

You're an emphmagi!" He said and hunched his shoulders.

"What the hell is that!?" she yelled, giving him a good pop on the back. "What're you calling me, you asshole!?"

Gen blinked, watching the two in the door way with Nojiko beside him. Nojiko frowned. They definitely weren't acting like kidnapper and kidnappee. "It means your emotions run your magic," he muttered.

"Yeah? Well, maybe it was your stupidity that was gimping your magic, and you're only getting better, because you're around someone who is smarter than you! I'm sure it doesn't take much!" She said, wrapping the bandages around him tightly, and ignoring the rumble of thunder outside.

"What does that even mean?" He frowned. "For your information I've got plenty of power. And it's not because you're smarter, it's because you break the curse."

"Well, maybe I can break the curse _because I'm smarter than an idiot like you_! You don't even know why I break your stupid curse!" she yelled back, finishing with the bandages. "Now put your clothes back on, you stupid pervert!"

"What the hell with all the yelling ...? Can't a man sleep ...?" Zoro blinked his eyes opened, but looked a little confused when all he could see were large breasts above him.

"Oh, you're awake," Robin said, the owner of the large breasts.

Luffy glanced over at Zoro as he put his clothes back on. "Hey Zoro."

"So ... we won, right ...?" Zoro asked, averting his eyes away from the large breasts with a flush.

"Yes," Robin said and smiled to him. "We won. Got a good bounty for the man Mage-kun defeated, as well as the one you defeated."

"Great... Now and I can go back to sleep... so quit making so much noise," Zoro muttered, closing his eyes to go back to sleep.

"Of course," Robin said stood up, ushering the other two out of the room. "Perhaps it is best to finish up in your own room."

"I'm already done with the idiot!" Nami exclaimed as Zoro's door was closed, and he relaxed back with a sigh.

"Stop calling me an idiot," Luffy muttered, glaring at Nami as the door closed behind them.

"Why? It's what you are, you idiot ..." Nami said glowered back, glaring him down right in return.

Gen sighed, not sure he liked this either. Couldn't they just go home already? Nojiko sighed. She really wanted to go home, but what interested her even more was trying to figure out the relationship between her sister and her kidnapper.

"And you're stingy," Luffy said, pulling his bottom eye lid down and sticking his tongue out at her. "That's worse than being an idiot."

"How is that worse!? You're just proving how much of an idiot you are with that nonsense!" Nami said, whacking him over the head.

"Being an idiot is something you can't help," he said and jabbed his finger at her chest, near her shoulder. "Being stingy is something you can help. It's a lot easier to stop being stingy, than it is to stop being an idiot. And yet, here we are, you think I'm an idiot, and yet you're still stingy."

"You are an idiot, and you just admitted to it! You're... an idiot! And if you touch my chest again, I will break your finger!" Nami exclaimed with a scowl and slapped his hand away.

"You're just ignoring my argument, because you can't refute it," he said glared at her. "And that was your shoulder, not your chest. Not to mention," he grabbed his finger and bent it backwards, it sprung back into shape. "You're welcome to try all you want."

"That's disgusting! _You're_ disgusting! I don't have to refute anything! I don't like to share, fine! But it doesn't change the fact that you are the dumbest person I have ever met!" she yelled back, jabbing his chest this time.

Luffy laughed and said, "You haven't met very many people. Trust me, there are people that even I know are idiots."

"And yet again, you admit to your stupidity," she said with a satisfied smirk as she walked on.

"So?" He followed along behind her. "If there's fighting that needs doing, I'll do it. If there's thinking that needs doing, I'll find someone better at thinking to do it."

"You're not even that good at the fighting. You almost got yourself killed yesterday, and you can't go without destroying towns!" She yelled over her shoulder.

"Might I remind you that he completely drained all the liquid in my body, after having beat me before, and that I managed to beat him still, even after only just having recovered from all that?"

"Okay, so you're stubborn too ..." She shrugged her shoulders, "You're just... lucky that I happened to make it rain," she said, wondering still how she'd managed that.

"And thank you for that," Luffy said, releasing his breath. "I wouldn't have been able to beat him if you hadn't." Though, he admitted to himself, he was doing pretty good with the blood on his hands, but he didn't tell her that.

"You're welcome," she huffed before stopping at their door. "We should pack and take Vivi back to Mariejioie."

"Yeah," Luffy said, "we should probably head back to the last town, see if we can pick up the rest of the convoy." He thought for a moment. "Speaking of which, why haven't they followed us?"

"That's a good question. Maybe they trust us with the task," Nami replied with a shrug.

"I hope that's it," Luffy said, since the only other possibility was that they were dead, which he hoped they weren't, especially since they didn't know what to do with Vivi without Igaram.

"Well, regardless, we need to get back. Let's gather our things and head back. We should rent a carriage for Zoro. He's pretty beat to shit. Not sure he can stay on a horse," Nami said, beginning to gather her things, which wasn't much.

"Yeah, maybe your friend and blondie can carry him to it. I'd help, but I might drop him," Luffy said with a nod. His belongings were even sparser, only really having his bag.

"Right, I guess they could," Nami said, lifting up her bag and heading for the door. Luffy strapped his bag around his shoulder, and followed Nami out of the room. "Let's go rent that cart first, and then come back for Zoro and the others," Nami said, suddenly smiling at Merry. "Good morning, Merry~! Did you sleep well?" she asked, petting over his nose and giving him a kiss before attaching her pack to his saddle.

Luffy frowned at the horse, which snickered back at him, nuzzling at Nami's head He then went and climbed onto the horse, after attaching his bags to the saddlebag like Nami's. "Stupid horse," he muttered to Merry, who snorted back at him and shifted.

Nami then pulled herself up behind Luffy with a sigh, not even noticing the exchange, and then she said, "Let's hurry ..."

"Sure," Luffy urged Merry forward, and they managed to find a place to rent a carriage, though it took some time.

They parked the cart that Merry was pulling, and Nami went inside to gather everyone up so they could go, while Luffy waited outside with Merry. Not too long after, they all came out, Nami having asked Gen and Sanji to carry Zoro out. Vivi climbed into the back of the carriage, laying out some blankets they'd purchased from the inn, and then they laid Zoro down. Then Nami climbed up behind Luffy again, with his help, as the others found their horses, and Vivi remained in the cart with Zoro. Robin finally came out, following the others, and climbed onto Zoro's horse, riding beside the cart as they departed.

Gen leaned over towards Nojiko and whispered, "There's plenty 'o room in that cart. Why's she ridden with that brat?"

"I don't... know," Nojiko replied and frowned. "Maybe she's just gotten used to it?"

Gen snorted loudly to that, making Nami turn and frown at him a bit, and then she asked, "What?"

"Why're you ridin' with the brat?" Gen asked bluntly and unabashedly.

"E-Eh?" Nami questioned with a blink before turning to look at Luffy's back and then back at Gen. "I-I dunno. I ... didn't really think about it," she said, her cheeks flushing slightly. She really hadn't thought about it, but now that she was ...

Luffy turned around to stare at the scarred man, then he looked down at Nami. "Probably because she likes Merry," he suggested.

She beamed suddenly, "I do like Merry~!" she said, petting Merry's back. "He's sucha good boy~! Unlike his master ..."

Luffy stuck his tongue out at her, and turned back around to keep his eyes on the road. Merry, on the other hand, gave a happy neigh and began to strut with a jaunty trot. This made Luffy growl and hiss, "Stupid horse!"

Nami stuck her tongue back at him and said, "So immature." Such a hypocrite ...

"Look who's talking," Luffy said and rolled his eyes.

"You started it!" Really mature ...

Gen rolled his eyes. What the hell ...?

Nojko didn't know whether to laugh or not.

"You're the one who insulted me first."

"Because you're the idiot that destroyed my town!"

"You're the one that hired me in the first place."

"I didn't realize you would be an idiot, who would destroy my whole town!"

"You hired me to take out a relatively powerful sorcerer. Of course, there was going to be some collateral damage. It's almost impossible to avoid!"

"You could have led him away somehow!"

Gen looked over at Robin and Zoro and saked, "Do they always do this?"

"Yes..." Zoro muttered, "and I just met them yesterday ..."

"I tried to! But he kept pushing me back towards the village!"

Robin laughed and said, "I've known them for a few days more. They are quite passionate about their arguments."

Sanji frowned and cried, "Oi! Shitty kidnapper, leave Nami-san alone."

Nami turned and beamed at Sanji. "Why, thank you, Sanji-kun~! That's very kind of you to care~!"

"_Passionate_?" Gen asked in emphasis of the word with a deep frown.

"Oh yes," Robin smiled mysteriously.

"Shut up you," Luffy said and flipped Sanji off.

Sanji's eyebrow twitched. "Why you..."

Nami shoved Luffy and said, "What're you getting all upset about!? He's just looking out for me, because you're an ass!"

"You can take care of yourself," he muttered. "It's none of his business."

"None of my business, you shitty..." Sanji muttered with a scowl.

Nami blinked at his back, not being able to help the flush that crept up her cheeks. He really thought she could take care of herself?

Gen's brow quirked exceptionally high to this. This didn't look good at all. "Mmm," he growled in displeasure.

Trying to set that aside, Nami then just forced a frown and said, "W-W-Well, he can defend me, if he wants to! I don't mind at all! It feels nice to be defended once in a while ... even if I can take care of myself!" she said with a nod and a huff. Though, on more than one occasion, Luffy had done just that for her. Not to mention, his saying she could take care of herself was sort of the same thing, but she would not admit to that.

"Well," Luffy said, if that's what you want, there's more than enough people here that can do exactly that." Like me, he thought to himself and huffed.

Sanji frowned. There was something very odd going on between those two.

"You're right! There are! Like Gen-san and my sister too!" she said, sticking her nose up in the air. "And all against you!"

"Hah!" Luffy laughed. "I'd love to see them try. The only one who could possibly take me is lying in that cart behind us."

"Leave me out of this," Zoro muttered with a yawn.

Nami smacked the back of Luffy's head and said, "I didn't mean in a fight, you moron!"

"Then what are they supposed to do?" Luffy said and frowned. "Besides, I've got Robin and Vivi on my side."

Robin laughed and said, "I would also like to be left out of this."

Vivi laughed nervously and muttered, "I-I can't ... really do much ... um .." Her cheeks were outrageously red.

"Ha! See!? You've got no one! Sanji-kun is on my side too, right~?" Nami said, turning to smile at him flirtatiously with a wink.

"Yes~ Nami-swan!" Sanji cooed, and somehow, he managed to twirl on top of his horse.

"I think we're just talking about who likes who in our group right now," Luffy told Vivi, ignoring Nami.

Vivi flushed harder, looking town and stammering in her speech, "I-I ... we-well ..."

Nami turned around, a strange blue aura around her as she gave the girl a cold glare. "Ee!" she screeched, grabbing a hold of Zoro in fear for her life.

Zoro hissed to the poor girl grabbing a hold of him, but then released a high pitched whistle as he smirked towards the two.

Robin chuckled and patted the girl's arm from atop her horse. "Don't worry, she won't hurt you."

"Oi," Luffy called and looked over his shoulder. "Let her answer on her own, stop cheating. Cheater!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about~!" Nami said sweetly, and she even smiled sweetly at him.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Liar."

She put a hand to her cheek and said, "Oooh, I'm sorry~! I didn't mean to scare your precious little princess~!"

Vivi's face erupted into a darker blush all across her face and muttered, "H-His...?"

"She's not my Princess," he muttered. "Stop saying it like she belongs to someone."

Vivi lost some of her blush then as she stared down at the cart. She was not sure how that made her feel.

"Ooh, I'm sorry~! Does that bother you?" Nami said, poking his cheek.

"Doesn't bother me," he lied. "But it's probably bothering her, so knock it off."

"Ooh, suddenly so mature~! You're such a liar," She said, poking his cheek more.

Vivi remained silent, however, still not sure what she was feeling. He had sounded almost cold. It didn't matter anyways. They were going to drop her off, and never see her again. She was just a job to him...

"Oh, be quiet," he muttered. "I can be mature when I need to be."

Robin glanced over at Vivi. "I'm sure he didn't mean it the way it sounded," she whispered, leaning down. "People say things they may not mean in the heat of an argument."

Looking up at her, her eyes glossy, Vivi then smiled with a nod. "Yes, of course ..." she replied back with a soft chuckle. Still ...

"I'm sure, that he'll appreciate it, if you're his friend for now," Robin said and smiled more brightly to her.

Vivi smiled and nodded. "Yes, of course." Taking a deep breath, she then said, using a great amount of courage, "I think Luffy-san is very mature. And I think he's very kind."

Nami stiffened then, her entire back going ridged. Perhaps not quite what Robin had in mind... Nami then turned slightly to peer at the girl over her shoulder with a deep frown, "Sure, but then you don't know him very well at all, now do you?"

Vivi frowned back, but didn't say anything more. She didn't want to lose to the orange haired woman, even if she didn't have magic of her own. She was always so mean to the man, and he didn't seem at all like the orange haired woman described him as.

Luffy frowned. Why was he hearing cats hissing? "Thank you, Vivi," he glared at Nami over his shoulder. "It's nice to know there's someone here, who knows how to be polite."

"Yes, of course, because you know nothing of the sort," she said, glaring back. "If only she knew the truth about y-"

"I do know the truth!" Vivi suddenly said, "Your sister told me. That he kidnapped you, but you don't look like someone, who's been kidnapped at all! And Luffy-san doesn't look at all like someone who would kidnap anyone! At least, not without good reason! And he didn't hurt you at all!"

Nami blinked, turning to gape at the girl before just frowning. "Well, he did kidnap me! And he's anything but kind! He's an idiot! And I have to deal with him every damn day, and every damn night! So don't you act like you know everything there is to know about him!"

Zoro released another high pitched whistle, looking between the two. Though, he was quite entertained as he had his arms folded behind his head.

Gen cleared his throat, bringing a fist to his lips. He didn't like this one bit...

Luffy wished he could get off the horse. "Next time I'm just bringing an enforcer from the guild to deal with clients that refuse to pay. So much less of a hassle."

"You shut up!" she said, punching his back. "It's your own damned fault, asshole!"

"You shouldn't speak to him that way! You do seem like a lot of trouble!"

"You be quiet too!"

"Oye, oye, oye... Let's have a moment of silence, shall we?" Gen said, wanting to quail the girls' tempers.

"Yes please. Besides, we've almost got the money, then you can be rid of me forever...after we figure your abilities out, so until then can we please be civil?" Luffy asked with a look of irritation, though he remained facing forward.

"Yes! I rejoice at that fact! I won't have to deal with your shit anymore! Maybe I should just go home and let you cry every time you can't get to sleep!" Nami said, smirking at him nastily.

"And then when I die of sleep deprivation I'll haunt you, forever." He smirked back at her. "Anytime you try to be alone with someone, or you're trying to sleep, I'll be right there, whistling in your ear, moving things around, or just generally reminding you, that I'm there...watching everything you do."

"Like hell, boy!" Gen yelled, angry about this now, and where the hell was that moment of silence!?

"Last I remember, I tamed the last ghost we came across," Nami said and smirked wider. "I wouldn't mind taming you and making you into a slave to do things for me~! And if I get tired of you, I can just learn how to exorcise you! I _do _have magic now!"

Vivi flushed at this, but couldn't find anything to say. She had no idea what the woman was talking about.

"So do I," he said in a singsong voice. "You really think the ghost of a regular person is the same as the ghost of a wizard?" He looked over at Gen. "She started it," he said, pointing at Nami.

"I would manage!" she said with a huff and quickly looked away from him. "And I bet you would like that! You pervert! You see this, Vivi!? This is who he really is!" she said, pointing at Luffy and smirking at Vivi, who was frowning at them softly.

"Pervert, huh?" He snickered. "If I recall properly, you were the one, who assaulted me that time."

"What the hell're you talking about!?" she said, scowling at him.

"What, you don't remember the morning you dove face first into..."

She smacked him hard over his head, but her face was bright red, and she yelled, "_That was an accident_!"

Of course it was," he said and smirked, "but we both know how much you believe in _accidents_."

She wrapped her fingers around his throat then to choke him to death. "I... am... going... to... kill... you!" she said, shaking him each time.

Gen and Vivi were both blinking at them in bewilderment, but then Gen scowled and said, "The hell're you goin' on about, boy!?" And Vivi blushed hard, wondering the same thing.

Luffy laughed, even as he was being choked, but then his head suddenly popped off and fell to the ground.

Vivi squealed in horror, her face paling completely and Nami just blinked as Merry stopped, but then she smirked. "Keep going Merry~! Let's see how well he does without his head. Though, he should be used to it by now, he doesn't use his brain at all."

"Oi!" His head floated up and head-butted her in the back of the head, lightly though.

Vivi squealed again, still pale. "Ow! You asshole! Don't make me punt your head! See how well you find your way back!" Nami yelled, scowling up at him. "And your scaring your little princess back there! You see that she's delicate!" she said, making a crack at the girl as well.

"Geez," he said, his head hovering in front of her. "You just twisted a guy's head off his neck, you'd think you'd show some more remorse."

"Why should I feel any kind of remorse for a jerk like you!?" she said, scowling at him.

"Geez," he muttered."What if you'd actually killed me?" He hovered over to Vivi. "Sorry about that," he chuckled sheepishly. "I wasn't really thinking."

"You never think," Nami yelled over at him, "and as if that would actually kill you, stupid!"

Vivi laughed nervously at him, paling further, and then she said, "I-I-It's... okay..."

"My head fell off," he turned back to Nami, orbiting her as they traveled back to the last town they'd been at. "How could that not kill me?"

"Oh, please! I know you better than that! You're so stupid!"

Gen quirked his brow again.

Vivi seemed to droop as they bickered. She hated to admit it, but the orange haired woman seemed to know Luffy very well. She hadn't even been worried, and she had seen the woman worried for him. She may not be aware of it herself, but she did care about the mage... even just a little.

"So you knew I was awesome enough that I could do this?" Luffy's hands detached and hovered under his head, where they looked like a pair of feet and as they traveled, he moved his hands like feet as he hovered.

"No, I knew you were stupid enough to do it. You said yourself; you didn't think," Nami said with a huff, lifting her chin into the air.

Luffy cupped his chin with his left hand. "Oh really? Yet you still knew that I could detach body parts? How?"

"I didn't, but I'm not dumb enough to believe I could make your head pop off. Only you're dumb enough to think I would believe it..." Nami said with a snort, unaware this time to the insult dealt Vivi.

Vivi blushed with embarrassment. She had totally thought that.

"Spoilsport," he said and rolled his eyes. "You've got some pretty butch hands you know."

Her 'butch' hand came up to pop him a good one. "They're affective for hitting you with, asshole!" she screeched, her face angry.

Zoro sighed, "How long has it been already?"

"Touchy," Luffy muttered, rubbing his nose.

"They can go on for quite some time," Robin said and chuckled with amusement.

"I'll show you touchy!" Nami said and bonked his head then.

"I can see that. Noisy..." Zoro muttered with another sigh as he tried to close his eyes.

Luffy quickly hovered out of the way. "Yeesh," he muttered, "I'm going to tell gramps his 'kidnapping if they don't pay' is a really stupid idea. I can't possibly imagine having to deal with anyone like you again."

"Good! I'm glad! Then you won't be kidnapping anymore innocent girls! You perverted asshole!" she yelled, frowning at him deeply.

"Innocent? Hah! You'd make slave drivers cringe," he said and pouted from a safe distance.

"Good! It would teach them a lesson, just like your sorry ass!" she yelled and scowled then.

"Haven't taught me any lessons," he said and smirked.

"Uh huh, right..." she said, glaring at him before looking ahead of her. "Fucking idiot ..." she muttered in her annoyance.

"And yet," he said, reattaching his head. "You keep starting these arguments."

"I don't always start them!" she said, giving his shoulder a smack this time.

"Just most of them," Luffy muttered.

"Thet's because you always do something stupid!" she yelled, scowling at him again.

"I've done plenty of stupid things around other people, and they don't mind."

"Then they must have a high tolerance for stupidity! And yet again, you admit to it," she said, closing her eyes and tilting her chin up again.

"You keep pointing that out," he said rolled his eyes. "I already know I'm not all that smart, difference is, I really don't care. I just do what I can, that's good enough for me."

She shifted her eyes to him with a slight frown on her face still. "Until you destroy a town," she said, closing her eyes again and turning back ahead.

"Someone hit me... knock me out... something... I want to sleep..." Zoro muttered, covering his head with his arms.

"He was stronger than you said," Luffy countered. "Not much I could do about that."

"Here," Robin said and handed him a herb. "Chew it, it will help you sleep."

Zoro blinked, staring at the herb before taking it and smirking at her. "Thanks," he said before putting it in his mouth and chewing.

"I said he was really strong, and that he was terrorizing everyone!"

Vivi just sighed. It looked like they could go on forever...

"You want some?" Robin said as she offered the herb to Vivi.

"Failing to be any kind of specific, a Sorcerer terrorizing one single, little village really doesn't strike most people as that big of a threat."

"Well, that's your own fault for assuming!"

Gen sighed as well. It was growing quite tiresome. In all honesty, if he was so powerful, why did he let Nami talk to him like that? Gen narrowed his eyes further, wondering about the boy.

"Ah, no!" Vivi held up her hands and smiled with a nervous chuckle, "but thank you ..."

Robin put the herb away and pulled out some wads of a waxy cloth. "Earplugs?"

Luffy scoffed. "Well, sorry your houses got destroyed. I was just a little busy trying to keep him from killing me, or anyone else in the village!"

"I'll take those too," Zoro said, holding out his hand as he chewed.

"Likely excuse! You were just being lazy! If you really cared, you'd have accepted the fact that you weren't getting paid for your recklessness and tried getting the money yourself instead of kidnapping me!"

Robin handed them to him, and she then looked at the others. "Anyone else? Earplugs?"

Luffy shuddered. "Accepted the fact that I wasn't getting paid? Maybe it would be a good idea to not bother this subject anymore till you actually meet my grandfather. You'll understand then."

"I'll take some," Nojiko said and held her hand out for some..

"You know... I bet he's as stupid as you are! Who said I wanted to meet your family!?"

"Me too ..." Gen said, holding out his hands as well with a deep sigh.

"Don't think you'll have much of a choice. They'll know as soon as we make it to Mariejoie. And I wouldn't call them stupid, they can be... sensitive..."

Robin handed them to Gen and Nojiko. She turned to Sanji, who was glaring at Luffy. "Earplug?"

"No thank you," he said and took a puff of his cigarette.

"Oooh~! Sensitive just like you~?" Nami cooed, though she wasn't serious at all.

"Okay, I'll take them," Vivi said, drooping a bit. She was beginning to think they enjoyed this ...

"No... more like sensitive, like they'll do on purpose what I did on _accident_ to your village...Well, not so much Ace or Dad, but Gramps can get grumpy." He looked ahead of them. "Hey, isn't that the village we want?"

Vivi could have cried in relief, '_Thank goodness ..._'

"Oh, looks like it., Nami said, raising a hand to her eyes with a blink.

Gen blinked at them. Their demeanor suddenly changed. What the hell was going on?

**To Be Continued...**

**Authors' Notes:**

Con: OH EM GEE, I THOUGHT IT WOULD NEVER END! D: But it was fun to do at the time. xD

Darth: Indeed, quite lengthy it was.

Con: Quite, which is why it was so damn hard to edit! D:

Darth: At least it's been a while since you read it, so it should have at least been interesting to read.

Con: Yeah, it was. I loved this RP. xD Which is why I decided to make it into a fic... ~,~

Darth: Yup. We should try another one sometime.

Con: Yeah, we should. O.o But I have no ideas in mind. X(

Darth: Hurm…I dunno, space pirates?

Con: AWESOME! Space pirates! D: Who doesn't love some good old space pirates! *COUGHFIREFLYCOUGH* Ah, wait, those were space cowboy... pirates... O.o We do good together though. X)

Darth: Indeed. Now if only I could bother writing my own crap.

Con: Do eet! D: It's fun. X) Mmm, I love creating my own characters... and making them hot... and irresistible, but still superbly flawed. X) Ahem... sorry... ~,~

Darth: I suck at making characters. I need to work on it some more.

Con: But it's so much fun! D:

Darth: Fun it is, but I suck at it.

Con: Well, practice makes perfect. That saying is an oldy, but goldy. xD Welp, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. :-)

Darth: Come back whenever we get the next one done.

Con: Yes, please! ^^


	14. Chapter 14: She Fears

**Authors' Notes:**

Con: Huh, no going to sleep and waking up the next morning this time... o: We're slipping. o.o

Darth: Great, now nobody is going to be reading this. They didn't get what they came for.

Con: Too damn bad. *Plugs nose* o.o They have to read it, because I said so.

Darth: There would be a lot more bestsellers if that was how getting an audience worked.

Con: Right? -.- Well, apparently, that's not how we work. They'll just have to deal with this.

Darth: Indeed. I'm still surprised people are still reading this.

Con: Yeah, me too, considering it's an AU, but people have told me that like it. o.o Crazy, right?

Darth: Well, unless you write an in universe story perfectly identical to Oda's style you'll always come up short. I actually really like AUs.

Con: Indeed, and I quite like AUs as well. Anyways, hope you guys like this chapter. :-)

Darth: Please come back after you finish.

Con: Yes, please! ^_^

**Charmed**

**Chapter 14: She Fears**

As they neared the town, Luffy turned to look at the others and said, "Now we just need to... What are you all wearing?"

"Eh?" Nami looked behind her and blinked at them. "Wha...?"

Vivi cleared her throat and looked to the side. "Um... earplugs..." she said, removing them from her ears.

Luffy blinked. "Why... were you wearing earplugs?"

Nami just blinked at them, totally oblivious. "Heh...?"

Gen groaned and rolled his eyes, keeping his earplugs in, while Zoro snored away softly.

"Well.. .anyway..." Luffy cocked an eyebrow, "we should find Captain Igaram and Pell, and the rest of the guards as soon as possible." He turned around and frowned. "I'm surprised we haven't found them yet... They should have met us partway..."

Vivi frowned softly and said, "I'm surprised they didn't follow at all. I'm a little worried about them."

"I'm sure we'll find them," Nami said, frowning deeply as she looked around, but then suddenly, a few men ran up towards Merry.

"Ah, miss! A lot of us saw what happened yesterday! You weren't hurt were you~? Is there anything I can do?"

"She doesn't need anything from you! I could help you with anything! I have a shop with produce! I'll give you anything you want!"

"How about a massage? Are you sore anywhere!?"

Nami frowned softly, instinctively moving a little closer to Luffy and away from the men. "I'm fine," she muttered to them, nearly pressing her face into his back, as if to hide.

Vivi blinked to this, but then her brows slowly started to furrow. Gen frowned deeply to the men, not liking how Nami seemed a bit afraid, and so yelled, "Oye!"

Luffy's eyebrow twitched. He shifted so that he was more between them and her. "All of you, either tell us what happened to the other men we were with, or piss off." He really, really couldn't stand all these men trying to get too close to her, especially when he knew it frightened her.

Robin smiled. Even if they fought, she enjoyed seeing how protective he was of her. Nojiko's eyebrows shot to her hairline. What was going on here!?

They all turned to glare at Luffy, looking very displeased with him, especially how close he seemed to be to the angel. "What'a you care? They all ran off that way," one of them said, pointing towards another road, "and we were talking to the beautiful lady."

Gen frowned even deeper as he watched Luffy. Something just wasn't right here. Nami turned away then, not wanting to deal with this. This time, she did bury her face within his back, feeling instinctively safe with him.

"Not anymore you aren't," his eyes started glowing blue, and he summoned a glowing blue orb of energy. "Piss off."

They all blinked up at Luffy, glancing towards Nami, who was no longer looking at them, and a tad more closer to Luffy, but just far enough away that her breasts wouldn't touch him. They then looked back up at Luffy before running off and called over their shoulders, "Yes, sir!"

Sighing in relief, Nami then sagged a bit before finally turning to look where they had run off to. This, or course, reminded her why she couldn't leave just yet. Gen's brows rose up at how far he went, just to make them go away, and how far he was going to protect someone he'd been bickering with the entire journey.

Luffy's eyes turned back to normal, and the orb winked out of existence. Taking a deep breath and exhaling, he then turned to look at Nami and then at the others. "So did anyone else see where they pointed? I wasn't paying that much attention to that..."

Gen and Vivi blinked up at him. What was going on!? Then both Vivi and Gen pointed in the direction they'd pointed in, and Nami peered up at Luffy a bit sheepishly, her cheeks flushed slightly.

Nojiko burst into laughter. "Sorry," she said, when Luffy stared at her, waving him away, "I just realized something is all."

"Oh," Luffy blinked. He then looked, where the convoy had apparently gone. "So," he said, looking down at Vivi, "it's your decision. Should we go after them, or press on to Mariejoie?"

She sighed then and looked down "I should be getting to Mariejioie. I have a deadline, and the others might not like me looking for them and risk something else going wrong," she said, thinking she may have lost before having entered the running at all, or if there ever was one. The mage obviously cared for the orange haired woman... quite a bit, and even if she bickered with him, she trusted him... quite a bit...

"Then let's get a move on!" Nami said, returning back to her usual self.

"Right," Luffy wheeled Merry in the proper direction, and they set out for Mariejoie.

"How far to the next town, or are we going to have to camp again?" Nami asked with a deep frown.

Robin pulled out a map. "We should be able to make the next town before nightfall. As we get closer to Mariejoie, the towns and villages become much closer together."

"Oh, well that's good," Nami said with a nod. "I don't like camping much."

"Me neither," Vivi agreed, still looking a little down.

"Maybe we should get something to eat first though," Nami said with a frown as she looked around.

"I agree," Luffy's said and so did his stomach, as it stomach growled.

"I can cook something Nami-san," Sanji offered with a bright smile and a bow from atop his horse.

"Eh?" Nami questioned, turning to look at the blond man and smiling. "Really? You cook?"

Gen snorted. "Yeah, pretty good too," he muttered, but loud enough to be heard.

"Ah, really?" Nami smiled then before turning to smile more brightly at Sanji. "That would be wonderful, Sanji-kun~! Now we just need to buy whatever you need to do it~!"

Nojiko nodde and said, "Yeah, I've never met a man who could cook as good as him."

Luffy snorted.

"Well," Robin said, "while we are still in town, let us restock our provisions. Perhaps we could visit the shop one of your 'suitors' owns?" she suggested to Nami with a wink.

Nami laughed nervously and said, "I-I guess we could. One did mention he owned a produce store. Did you happen to notice where he ran off to?"

"That way," Robin pointed in the right direction. "I paid attention, because I've been saving quite a lot on groceries since meeting you two."

Nami laughed nervously again before giving Luffy a pat on the back. "That way then..." she said, pointing a bit towards the man's shop.

Luffy nodded grimly and led the horse to the shop. Once there, he dismounted and helped Nami down. Nami allowed this, but only took a small step towards the shop with a deep frown and called, "Hello?"

The man immediately came out to her voice and smiled brightly. "Aah~! So you came after all~! I knew I could be of service to such a beautiful woman!"

Gasping in surprise, Nami took a step back, bumping right back into Luffy. "Aah! Um," she said, but then laughed nervously. How the hell was she able to do this before the incident? "Um, we jus... need a few things," she said before turning to Sanji. "Whatever he wants ..." she said and pointed.

However, the shopkeeper then glared at Sanji, but said, "If this is what the beautiful lady desires..."

"I-It is," ahe said, frowning deeply.

"Very well... Please... come inside..." he said, bowing to Nami.

Sanji glared back at the man and followed him inside. He glanced over at Nami, who was very nervous. He wondered, what had happened to make her this nervous. Once inside, Sanji picked out all the ingredients he needed for the afternoon's meal, and some more for later. Luffy placed a hand on Nami's shoulder, not saying anything.

At feeling Luffy's reassuring hand on her shoulder, Nami relaxed, and even more so when the shopkeeper went inside. Gen glared at Luffy. He was getting tired of wondering what the hell was the deal with them. "Keep in mind you're only getting these things, because the beauty said so," the shopkeeper said, glaring at Sanji with his arms crossed.

"You only serve customers that are with beautiful women? That's a terrible business practice," Sanji snapped at the man, though he should not be talking...

"Of course not! The lady is special~!" the shop owner said, clapping his hands together with a far off smile. "She has something about her~!"

"Can't disagree with that," Sanji wasn't feeling whatever influence the other men were feeling, but he himself was practically the walking incarnation of the spell. "So how much for all this?"

"Free, because of the lady. Now shoo!" he said, shooing Sanji off. Nami blinked when Sanji was being shooed out.

"Oh, but-!"

"Ah, don't worry, my lovely lady~! He got all he needed at no cost~! Don't you worry your pretty little head~!" he said, coming up to her and taking her hand in his and had intended to kiss it, but Nami gasped, trying to pull away, fear filling her eyes.

"Thank you," Luffy said, grasping the man's wrist. "But I hope you'll understand, if I tell you she doesn't like being touched."

The man blinked and paled, the grip on his wrist was very tight, and so he looked up and smiled nervously with sweat beading down his face. "Of course..."

Nami backed away quickly, a little pale herself, and instinctively ended up pressed into Luffy's side. Gen narrowed his eyes further. Once the shopkeeper had been released and went back inside, Gen turned to Nami and asked, "Na-chan ... what happened to you?"

Nami stiffened, not looking up at Gen. "N-Nothing, it was nothing. I told you that. I... I got into a little trouble, but Luffy... managed to... It was nothing. I'll figure this out," she said before turning away.

Nojiko, who had been worried at her sister's behavior nodded, when Gen asked what had happened to her. "Are you sure? The men... seem to get very pushy around you..."

Luffy's jaw locked, and he clenched his fists, remembering the incident.

"I don't want to talk about it!" Nami said a little forcefully, though Gen was now paying attention to Luffy. "I'll figure this out," she said more quietly and forced herself to relax.

Vivi frowned softly to the woman before looking over at Robin. Robin's expression was guarded, though she watched Nami with understanding eyes.

Luffy looked over at Nami. He could still see the scene in front of him. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm down.

Sanji scoffed. "It was probably this idiots fault," he said and nodded at Luffy.

Luffy's eyes flared for an instance. "Yeah..." he averted his eyes, "it was..." He still felt the guilt... If he hadn't gotten her so mad, that she left alone...

Nami gasped softly, her eyes widening as she stiffened, but then she clamped her fisted together and lowered her head. Her eyes softened as her cheeks flushed darkly. He still blamed himself for what happened. She couldn't help but to remember their talk after the fact. The way he'd looked at her, and how he'd touched her. Tears came to her eyes then. She hadn't understood it. She still didn't. If he did feel guilty, why did he still argue with her all the time and piss her off? "W-We... should go," she finally said, moving back towards Merry, and Vivi frowned a little deeper, looking between them both.

Gen frowned very deeply at Luffy. How could this boy, who kidnapped their Na-chan, care so much about her? Sanji's eyes widened at the confession. Now if only he knew what had happened. Nojiko was certain then. The boy was falling in love with Nami, if he wasn't already. Robin frowned. She knew that it had been, because of their argument, but hadn't realized that he blamed himself to that extent.

Luffy nodded and said, "Yeah, we should." He climbed back onto Merry and held his hand down to Nami.

Nami kept her head lowered for a bit before finally looking up at his hand. Her eyes were still glossy with unshed tears, and her expression a soft frown before finally looking up at Luffy. Sighing then, she took his hand and climbed back onto Merry. However, she just kept her head lowered once seated, even pressing the top of it against Luffy's back.

Gen's brows rose up a bit to Nami's expression as she looked up at the brat, wondering what it meant.

Nojiko nodded. It was faint, but for whatever reason, she could tell that the mage was more important to her sister than Nami would admit.

Luffy's heart clenched at Nami's expression, and the tears in her eyes. If he could, he realized at that time, he'd do anything to help her forget that moment, when those... animals... He shook his head. "Lets... stop somewhere; a ways out from the town, we can have lunch there."

Nami nodded and muttered, "Sounds fine..."

Vivi gave a deep sigh. Even if she had lost this, she couldn't help but to think it all a little romantic. While sweet, Robin had to admit, a little too much drama for her tastes.

Once they had traveled a good distance from the village, Luffy stopped Merry. "Here's good, we can eat here." He turned around and glanced at Zoro. "Is he going to wake up for food?" he asked Robin.

Robin shrugged. "Maybe, I gave him some herbs to help him sleep."

Luffy blinked. "Why did you do that?"

Robin didn't answer, and instead she dismounted.

"Okay," Luffy said, turning to Sanji. "Blondie. Food."

Sanji's eye twitched. "My name's Sanji, and I don't take orders from you."

"Whatever," Luffy shrugged. "Just... do whatever it is you do."

Sanji muttered, but set about to prepare the meal.

"Thank you, Sanji-kun, for making us this meal," Nami said, though a bit quietly, but she smiled at him none the less, but then the pursed her lips at Luffy. "He is cooking for all of us. You could at least be nice," she said before sliding off from Merry and going to her bags.

"Fine," Luffy sighed. Glad that she was showing signs of getting back to normal. "Please make food, Sanji?"

Luffy was ignored. "Hai, Nami-swan," Sanji said subserviently, catering and bowing.

"Oh great," Luffy muttered in irritation from being ignored. "Him too?"

Nami blinked at Sanji, frowning a little deeply, and pressing herself a bit against Merry. "Oh nah, the boy's just like that. Boy's naturally stupid," Gen said, waving it off.

"Eh?" Nami questioned, looking to Gen and Nojiko.

Nojiko nodded and said, "Yeah..." and then she sighed, "watch." She walked over to Sanji, and then she smiled sweetly. "Oh, Sanji-kun, could you make something extra special for me and my sister?"

"Hai, Nojiko-chwan," Sanji said, with the exact same reaction as he had around Nami.

"Oh," Nami said, relaxing a bit, "all right then." She frowned, still digging in her bags. "So... Sanji-kun... you don't... feel anything... strange around me then?"

"Strange?" Sanji blinked, looking up from the food he was preparing. "Ah, you must mean the potent pull of love. That sweetest sirens call, that..." He swooned.

Luffy, who was getting the fire started, felt his eye twitch. It was happening more often. Kind of getting annoying.

"Ah... no... like... how you usually act... You know what? Never mind..." Nami said, smiling sweetly. "Do you have magical abilities?"

"A little bit, Nami-swan," Sanji admited. "I've been known to augment my fighting ability with some spells, mostly fire based."

Luffy snorted and muttered, "Fat load'a good that did you."

"Oh, then you wouldn't be affected by me then," she said, relaxing further, and then brightened, when she found what she was looking for. A smile spread across her face, and then she walked to Merry's front. "Here you are, Merry," she said softly, holding up the apple for him. "Look what I've got for you," she continued to coo, petting over his face softly, her expression mimicking her words.

Luffy's and Sanji's eyebrows twitched at the same time. "Dumb animal," they both muttered at the same time.

Merry neighed appreciatively, and took the apple from Nami's hand, his lips brushing the palm of her hand.

Nojiko giggled and walked over to the horse. "Oooh, he's such a nice horse," she said and petted his neck.

"Lucky animal," Sanji muttered, but this time, Luffy didn't say anything. He only glared at his stupid horse.

"Merry's sucha good boy~!" Nami cooed and giggled, petting over his head, ears and his nose gingerly. "Would you like another apple, Merry? I think I have one somewhere in my pack."

Merry neighed in the affirmative, alternatively nuzzling Nami and Nojiko.

Nami giggled, petting the horse before going to check the pack and finding another apple, and then she held it up for Merry. "Here you go~!"

Merry ate the apple from her hand, snorting, and blowing several strands of hair on her head around.

"Ooooh, I want to try," Nojiko said, entranced by the incredibly tame animal.

"Hmm, lemme see if I have more," Nami said, giving a look before finding a pear. "Here's a pear," she said, handing it to her sister.

Nojiko took the pear and held it out to Merry. The horse ate the pear, carefully, out of her hand. His lips tickled as he ate the fruit, making Nojiko giggle.

"Oooh~!" Nami cooed, giving Merry a hug. "You're sucha good boy~! And so cute! All white with grey feet and a grey nose~!" she continued, rubbing Merry's nose, her cheeks bright and flushed and her smile wide.

"What is it," Sanji said, rhetorically, "about horses, that brings out the little girl in all women?"

Luffy frowned at the horse, glaring at Merry's shamelessly enjoying the attention.

"Hey," Sanji called. "Do you have that fire ready?"

"Yeah, yeah," Luffy muttered and snapped his fingers. A large column of flame erupted from the fire pit. He yelped and jumped backwards. It happened again!

Gasping and jumping, Nami looked over to them and frowned. "Would you be more careful with that!?"

"Sorry, sorry," Luffy said, patting flames out of his robe. He stood back and admired his handy work. "Have to say though, lighting fires is so much easier, when I can make this much, not just that lame little match head amount."

"It's dangerous is what it is!" Nami said, going over to give him a pop on the head.

"Oww," he muttered. "And what do you call those thunderstorms you keep calling?"

"So what was this fire all about then!?" Nami yelled, and Gen groaned, rolling his eyes. Not again...

"What?" Luffy muttered. "I was irritated..."

"About what!? What've _you_ got to be irritated for!?"

Gen frowned at the brat. He was even jealous of the horse? That was a little funny... and thus, he sniggered. Nojiko covered her mouth with her hand. The horse? Seriously?

"Just... earlier... those guys were being annoying..." Luffy muttered with a purse to his lips.

"Earlier when!? What're you even talking about!?" Nami said, hands on her hips.

"In the village," he murmured.

"That was a long time ago!" she exclaimed, frowning at him deeper. "Ugh! You're ridiculous!" she said, turning her attention back to Merry. "How do you put up with such a silly master, Merry~?" she cooed, rubbing her nose against Merry's.

"A long time ago? It was only earlier today!"

Liar. Nojiko thought, nuzzling the horse again. "I don't know how Merry does," she laughed. "How do you put up with him?" Merry just neighed in return, as if trying to tell his story.

"Who knows~! Poor Merry~!" Nami cooed. "He shouldn't be annoyed after so long already~!"

"I think he's jealous," Nojiko whispered to her sister.

Nami blinked, looking clueless, and then she asked, "Eh?"

"Your kidnapping mage friend," Nojiko clarified with a smirk.

"Heh?" Nami still questioned, looking confused now. "Luffy? Jealous of what? think he wanted an apple too, or something? He is a greedy hog when it comes to food. Poor Merry," she cooed again with a pout.

"Not exactly," Nojiko laughed.

"Eh?" Nami said and frowned then. "What're you going on about, Nojiko?" Gen snorted quite loudly.

"Maybe you'll figure it out on your own sometime," Nojiko said and patted her sister's cheek. Then she pulled her in for a hug, tears welling in her eyes.

Nami blinked in utter confusion, going stiff in her sister arms. "E-Eeh?"

"I was so afraid," she sobbed. "I was afraid that I wouldn't see you again."

Nami blinked a few more times, but then her eyes softened and saddened as tears came to them. Then she closed them, hugging her sister back, and she said, "Oh, Nojiko... I... I... I'm sorry. Please don't cry. I missed you so much."

"Sorry..." Nojiko whimpered. "I'm just so... so glad I found you again..."

Luffy felt his chest tighten painfully. So this was what he'd done? All so that he could get paid? He'd gone to save them from Arlong, and ended up causing even more pain. Suddenly, he could understand why Nami hated him so much. He stood up and decided to take a walk, give them some time to themselves, away from the one who'd torn them apart.

Sanji looked away from the sisters' private moment. He noticed Luffy walking away and frowned. Did that bastard even realize the pain he'd put those two sisters through? And all the people that cared about them?

Nami buried her face in her sister's neck, and cried softly, "I'm all right though. I still can't believe you came after me."

"Of course I did. We're sisters," Nojiko said and rubbed Nami's back. "I'll always come for you."

"I would have come for you too, Nojiko," Nami said, leaning back to cup her sister's face and smile softly.

Nojiko smiled wanly, and caressed her sister's cheek. "I love you."

Nami's expression warmed as she tilted her head slightly "Oh, I love you too, Nojiko!" she said before throwing herself into her sister's arms for another hug.

Nojiko tightened her hug around her sister, and kissed the top of her head.

After awhile, Nami pulled away, but then blinked as she finally glanced around the small encampment. "Eh? Where'd Luffy go?" she asked, looking about, but not seeing him anywhere.

"Somewhere over there," Sanji said and waved in the general direction.

Nami blinked again before frowning, and unbeknownst to even herself, she felt uneasy without him in sight. With a huff, she kissed her sister's cheek before standing up. "What'd he go walking off for?" she grumped as she headed in the direction Sanji had pointed in, and Vivi frowned softly as she passed her.

Luffy sighed, leaning against a tree. He was trying to figure out his new realization, console it with his knowledge of what would happen, if he came back empty handed. The more he thought about it, the more muddled the whole situation became.

"Oh, _there_ you are," Nami said, crossing her arms as she stood off some distance. "What're you doing?"

"Oh," he looked over at Nami. "Nothing, just thinking..."

"Thinking? Are you sure? You weren't just staring off into nothing and thinking about nothing? You're pretty good at doing that," she said, pursing her lips at him a bit.

"So?" he said and frowned. Why was he feeling sorry for her again? "Is it time to eat yet?"

"Nah, just thought I would interrupt your solitude," she said with a shrug. After all, she couldn't go without bothering him at all.

He frowned at her, and then he said, "I'll be sure to return the favor in the future."

She snorted to this. "I'll look forward to it then," she said sarcastically, "but don't expect to survive if you try coming around, when I'm trying to bathe." She then turned around and walked back to camp.

He rolled his eyes, pushing off the tree to follow her. "I think I'll pass on that. Don't see why I'd want to be around you while your bathing anyway."

"Oh? Why do you say that?" she asked in a huff.

"What? You _want_ me to peek on you bathing?" he asked and smirked.

"I didn't say that!" she snapped, turning to offer him a glare, though her cheeks had some color, but just as quickly, she turned back around and walked into the camp, looking huffy.

He laughed, following her back to the camp. Well, at least they had fun together, even if a lot of it was annoying.

Gen looked up then with narrowed eyes, watching as the two came back, though he wondered what had happened when they'd been out of sight. "Yeah, laugh it up now!" Nami said, glaring at him over her shoulder before going back to Nojiko.

Luffy just shrugged and went to sit by the fire, where Sanji was preparing food.

Nojiko looked over at Nami. "Lover's spat?" she asked her.

"Are you out of your mind!?" Nami screeched, looking completely appalled and perhaps a little pale.

Nojiko laughed and said, "I'm only teasing you. Though," she added thoughtfully, "that was a very interesting reaction from you."

She didn't have to be that horrified at the idea, Luffy thought to himself.

"Whatever are you talking about, Nojiko!? You're beginning to worry me!" Nami said, frowning down at her sister deeply before sitting down with a huff. "Let's change the subject, shall we? I don't want to have any nightmares tonight," she muttered with a shudder.

"Nightmares?" Nojiko said and frowned. "Have you been having nightmares lately?"

Nami snorted into laughter and said, "No, I meant... Never mind." She shook her head with a sigh.

"I know what you meant," Nojiko snickered and elbowed Nami jokingly.

Nami pursed her lips at her sister then. "You're scaring me," she said, glaring slightly.

"What? Can't take a little teasing?" Nojiko said and laughed.

Nami snorted then. "Whatever," she muttered quietly, wondering why her sister was teasing her in the first place.

"I missed you so much," Nojiko said and gave her sister a one armed hug. "I'll make sure no one separates us again. Except maybe, when the right men come around." She laughed.

Nami frowned deeply with a flush and said, "Right _men_ huh? Who do you think I am?"

"You're a woman, aren't you?" Nojiko asked and gripped her shoulder.

"But _men_!? Only need one," she muttered, her cheeks growing red once again.

"One for you, one for me," Nojiko said and rolled her eyes at her sister's misunderstanding. "That makes men."

"Oh, right," Nami said with a sigh, lulling her head to the side and into the palm of her hand.

"So, how much money are you making from this job?" Nojiko asked Nami.

"Supposedly, two thousand gold pieces," Nami said, looking down at the ground.

Nojiko's eyes widened. "Really? Wow, that would be enough to rebuild the village several times over."

Nami nodded with a smile and said, "Yeah, I should be getting about that much, or a little more after Luffy and I split the money."

Nojiko rolled her eyes and said, "Don't see why he should be getting any after the stunts he pulled."

"It's not like I have a choice or anything," she muttered between her tightly pursed lips.

Nojiko frowned and said, "Really? 'Cuz it seems to me like he just might give you his share if you asked him _nicely_."

Nami frowned at her sister as if she were daft and said, flatly, "There is definitely something wrong with you..."

"I have several days worth of banter to make up for," Nojiko said and rubbed her chin with her hand.

Nami snorted then, closed her eyes and turned away from her sister. "Well, keep saving it up!"

"But it's so much fun!"

"You just wait, Nojiko! Soon, I'm going to have something to tease _you_ about!" Nami said, giving her sister a fussy pout.

"Hardlyyyyyy ~ !" Nojiko said and laughed.

"You'll see!" Nami cried, her lips sticking out a bit more.

"Oooh~! I'm scared now." Nojiko snickered, enjoying herself immensely.

"You should be! I'll find something on you! And I don't even know what you're picking on me about! And that makes it worse!" Nami huffed and stood up quickly before going over to Merry, "You'll be nice to me. Won't you, Merry?" she said, nuzzling the horse's neck.

Merry nipped at Nami's braid.

"You don't know, and that's what makes it funny~!"

Nami snorted again, and for some reason, that made her blush. What was Nojiko talking about? But then she patted Merry's nose and said, "Oye, that's my hair your nibbling on."

Merry licked at her ear.

Nami giggled and moved away a bit with a bright smile. "Well, aren't you a little flirt~? Getting fresh with me!" she said, laughing then and going back to hug the horse.

"Stupid animal," Luffy and Sanji muttered at the same time, then both turned to glare at each other, before finally turning away.

"He is, isn't he?" Nojiko said and laughed.

"Yes!" Though her reply was bright with laughter as she rubbed Merry's nose. "He's sweet~!"

"Lunch is ready," Sanji called, starting to deal out portions.

"Oh, all right," Nami said, smiling now at Sanji. "Thanks, Sanji-kun," she said before going over to get herself a plate.

Luffy stared down at his plate of food. "Why've I got so much less than anyone else?" he asked and glared at Sanji.

"Because you're a shitty rubber headed kidnapper, that's why," Sanji said and glared back at Luffy.

"Why you bastard..."

Nami sighed then, sitting down on her stump. "Did you really _expect_ them to just like you?" she said with her eyes closed as she ate.

Vivi frowned softly, looking over at Luffy, and she had opened her mouth to speak, but Nami opened hers first. "You can have what I don't eat... okay?" she said, though her voice sounded as if she was chiding him.

Luffy blinked at her and asked, "Really?" He found it hard to believe, but that was pretty nice of her.

"_If_... I have anything left," she said and smirked then, looking quite smug.

Vivi sighed deeply and drooped. If Nami didn't have anything left, she would offer hers.

"Fine by me," Luffy smiled, and started eating his much smaller portion of food.

Nami snorted again, but her smirk turned into a small smile as she started eating, and like she had expected, she couldn't eat all of what Sanji had given her. Getting up, she went to him and thrust out her plate to him. "Here, stupid."

"Thanks," Luffy grinned up at her, "scary lady."

She snorted and pulled the plate back with a smirk. "I don't have to give it to you!"

"Aack!" Luffy cried and grabbed for the plate. "Nonononono, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! don't do that please!"

Nami grinned then with a giggle, still holding the plate away, and then she asked, "Are you gonna call me a scary lady then?" Gen quirked his brow and just watched the play ...

"Never," Luffy swore, but then added, "Well... maybe later..."

"Ooohoho~!" Nami said, pulling the plate further back and even taking a step back. "I'm sorry? What was that?"

"Nothing, I swear," Luffy said, reaching for the plate again.

Pushing against his chest with a nasty smirk and quite the evil chuckle, she then, after awhile, brought the plate down for him to take. "It's probably cold now."

Luffy took the plate and said, "Thanks." He then pointed at the fire. "Got that if it's too cold." But it wasn't, so he finished eating it.

Sanji's eyebrow twitched. Why was she giving her food to that shitty rubber mage?

Gen's eyes narrowed slightly as he watched Nami take her seat back on the stump. Did she have feelings for the boy too then? He had noticed that she trusted him, even more than she seemed to realize. She instinctively knew that he would protect her.

"Um, Luffy-san... y-you can... have the rest of mine as well," Vivi said shyly with a blush as she gave him her plate.

Looking up at Vivi, Nami then frowned and said, "I already gave him some. He doesn't need more."

"H-He might!" Vivi called back with a soft frown, but Nami just snorted and looked away. Nami was obviously jealous of the girl, Gen observed. It was only a matter of time then for it to come to light to the both of them... that was... if the boy hadn't already noticed...

Yup, thought Nojiko, totally jealous.

"Oh, thanks Vivi," Luffy smiled and took Vivi's food as well.

Nami's brow twitched as she glared at Luffy and his smile to the girl. Gen could have sworn her eyes flickered with a blue glow, and looking up at the sky, he noticed a few clouds wanting to roll in, but something was suppressing them.

Robin looked up at the clouds and couldn't help, but roll her eyes. The girl had it bad, even if she was far from realizing it.

Snorting then, Nami leaned back against the tree next to the stump and seem to pretend like she didn't care as she closed her eyes. She forced her face to relax and crossed her arms under her bust, which pushed out over the bodice a bit.

Luffy noticed some clouds moving in and nervously glanced down at Nami. He blushed and looked away, when his gaze was attracted to her chest, and the support her arms were giving it.

Gen noticed this and snorted. He was definitely attracted to her, and he knew it. So then, the boy seemed to be aware of his feelings. Either that, or he was becoming more aware of it, faster than Nami was.

Nojiko had to smile, the circumstances aside, they were kind of cute. She had to admit, he looked pretty good, and when he was around her sister, something just seemed to click. She laughed lightly when she considered, that perhaps, he kidnapped her, not because she didn't pay him, but because he was overcome with passion.

xxxxx

It took them at least three hours to finally get to town, and everyone was on edge and irritable... seeing as the "happy" couple... had bickered the whole damn way! A person would think the two would run out of things to argue about, but no, they seemed relatively content to do it, and even seemed to enjoy it greatly. However, they were the only two having a "good" time.

"You're just too stupid to realize it, is your problem! You're such an idiot!"

"You can call me an idiot all you want, I really don't care~!" Luffy laughed, for some reason he was in a good mood.

"That's because you're too stupid to realize it's an insult!" Though, she knew that wasn't true, but she was trying to get some kind of rise out of him. She felt pretty good otherwise, and she wasn't sure why.

"You're the one, who can't think of any new insults. Seems like I'm not the only stupid one here," he retorted and looked around, spotting an inn. "How's that place look for spending the night?"

"Looks nice... actually. It'll do," Nami said with a smile before adding, "Your stupidity must be rubbing off on me."

Gen grumbled and grouched, muttering what the hell were they so happy about to Nojiko and why the hell _were_ they happy about arguing for three damned hours straight!

Nojiko sighed. It had been cute at first, but had quickly grown tiresome. All she could answer Gen with was, "I don't know."

"Then go take a smart bath to wash it off," Luffy said as he led Merry to the inn and climbed down, offering to help Nami down.

Sanji's eyebrow was twitching, rapidly, as he glared at the rubber mage, and the fact that Nami seemed to be getting along with him, despite the obvious tension on the surface.

Robin was wearing her earplugs again. She did not mind one way or the other.

"Ooh~! You're so clever~! Maybe I will," she said with a huff, lifting her nose into the air, but allowed him to help her down. However, she jolted a bit at a slight spark she felt, causing her heart to jump and her breath to catch in a gasp. She blinked a bit, looking up at Luffy for a split second before just hurrying inside to get the rooms.

Luffy blinked, staring after her, when she gasped and suddenly hurried into the inn. Finally, he shrugged and took their bags, letting a stable boy take care of Merry. He then followed Nami inside.

Everyone else sombered inside, ready to lay down in peace and quiet, grateful the two "lovebirds" or whatever the hell they were, got a single just for themselves. Nami still felt uncomfortable about having to sleep with Luffy with her sister and Gen around, but Luffy needed his sleep in case something went wrong, right? He needed his power...

Once inside Luffy yawned and stretched. "How many rooms are we getting?" he asked Nami.

"Well, Robin can share a room with Nojiko and Vivi, and Gen, Sanji-kun and Zoro can all share a room. We can just ask for cots. Then... we can get a single, so two doubles and a single." she replied the last part quickly without looking at him as she approached the front desk.

"Sounds good," Luffy said, as he followed her to the desk.

"Right," Nami said, going up to the desk. "Excuse me..."

A man suddenly turned around, looking flighty with a smile, and then he said, "Yes~! My dearest love~ What can I do for you? Anything at all and it shall be yours~!"

Nami blinked at the man, finding herself backing away and not at all liking his possessive speech. "I-I..."

"We need three rooms,' Luffy said, stepping up beside Nami and putting his hand on her shoulder.

The man suddenly turned to Luffy as if noticing for the first time that he was there. "And you are?" he asked in a snooty voice as his eyes narrowed. "My lady can speak for herself~! Isn't that right, dearest?" he asked, beaming at her as he took her hand, which she had rested on the counter.

Gasping and jumping straight up against Luffy, Nami pulled her hand away, paling considerably as flashes of hands touching her entered her mind and without any thought coursing through her mind other than the fact that she did _not_ want this man touching her, while she was here, she screeched, "My husband! We need a single and two doubles please, _now_!" Her eyes were wide and fearful, ad her body shaking slightly.

Gen's mouth dropped open wide.

**To Be Continued...**

**Authors' Note:**

Darth: First!

Con: First? O.O D: DX How dare you!?

Darth: The balance of power has shifted.

Con: Oh my dear goodness no! D: It's the end of the world!

Darth: There are some changes that need to be made. First, we need a harem in this story!

Con: No. o.o

Darth: And all the chapters will be nothing but sex scenes.

Con: Wait, what? O.o No. o.o

Darth: The first has spoken!

Con: The first is about to get his balls chopped off and forcefed to him. So, the first can go to hell. The master has spoken. No. o.o

Darth: Bah.

Con: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! :-D Until next time~! :-D

Darth: The first will rise again!

Con: And get drop kicked.


	15. Chapter 15: He Blushes

**Authors' Notes:**

Darth: There was a distinct lack of sexy times in the opening here.

Con: Hmm, yeah... We, again, didn't stick to traditions... Oh well. O.o If anyone complains, I can drop kick them. o.o

Darth: Or we can go with my ideas.

Con: No. o.o

Darth: It's what the readers want.

Con: Too damned bad. It ain't what they're gettin'. *Picks nose* -_-

Darth: Bah. Fine, just enjoy the chapter.

**Charmed**

**Chapter 15: He Blushes**

Luffy's eyes narrowed at the man. At Nami's exclamation, he froze and stared down at her. Then he just looked back at the man and said, "That's right, two doubles for our friends, and a single for me and my... wife."

The man frowned deeply then and snorted. "Fine..." he muttered before slamming down two keys on one side, and slammed even harder a third key. "Lucky bastard... Have fun then..." he almost sneered before huffing and turning away.

Nami was breathing heavily as she snatched up that single key and bolted up the stairs. After unlocking the door, which took a few tries, she ran into the room and slammed the door shut, holding it that way for awhile before slowly backing into the room. She was tired of being afraid of her ability. She couldn't trust anyone or how they would react. People seemed to react differently to her, which was probably varied by their personalities or the situation, for instance, them fighting over her. Some were a lot nicer and kinder, and others were very touchy or pushy. She didn't like this at all... Going to the bed, she curled up and wished for a split second that she had Luffy's cloak as she buried her head in her knees.

"Oi, Na-chan!" Gen called with a soft frown before turning to frown even deeper at Luffy. "What happened to our Na-chan!? You said it was your fault! What did you do to her!?"

Luffy looked away from Gen and headed out to the cart, but then he said, "We got into an argument. That's all I can tell you. You'll have to wait until she's ready to tell you. We need to get Zoro to his room."

"Got into an argument!? That's not telling me much at all! You're always arguing!" Gen bellowed, but followed him out to get Zoro anyways.

"Well, this time she left on her own. Maybe that tells you something, maybe it doesn't, but it's all I'm saying," Luffy said as he lifted Zoro's top half and left Gen to get his legs.

After Luffy had helped bring Zoro in, he asked Robin which room Nami had gone into, and followed her inside. She was laying curled up on the bed. He decided not to say anything, and instead he took off his robe. He laid it on his side of the bed, and went to the bathroom to wash off. Opening her eyes and seeing the cloak, she flushed, looking sheepish as she slowly reached out and pulled the cloak completely over her and curled up tighter.

After washing off, Luffy came back into the room and looked at Nami. He stood in silence at her having pulled his robe over her, and the memories flooded him. Finally, he sat down on his side of the bed, leaning against the head board and said, "So... husband?"

She stirred a bit under the cloak, and then she muttered, "Shut up..." but then she replied much more quietly, "I didn't want him touching me anymore. Don't like the ones, who touch."

"I understand," he said and closed his eyes.

Suddenly, she giggled from under the cloak, but no other sound came out.

He opened his eyes and looked down at her. "You... okay?"

She giggled again and said, "I found my wine."

"Oi, I confiscated that!" he said, but could not help it, as he laughed.

She giggled a bit more and opened it to take a drink. "And I got it back without having to stick my hands in there while you were wearing it too."

"Stupid magic, activating when it wasn't supposed to..." Of course, it did so, because _she_ had magical ability. He then looked over at her again and asked, "Can I have a sip at least?"

She hummed under the cloak with a smile, but then the bottle suddenly immerged from under the cloak.

He blinked at this, but smiled and said, "Thanks." He reached for the bottle, took a sip and handed it back to her underneath his robe. "Mmmh... s'good. Should have drunk it myself earlier."

She snorted from under the cloak, though she blushed, looking at the rim of the bottle before taking another drink from it, and then she said, "Nojiko and Gen-san'r gonna want answers..."

"I told Gen-ossan that we got into an argument and you left on your own," Luffy said and closed his eyes again, "but that's all they know..."

She didn't reply from under the cloak as she stared into the dark, but then she finally said, quietly, "I'll... talk to them later."

"They'll understand... They're your family," he said, but went silent for a few moments, and then he said, "Of course, they may just want to kill me after they find out, but that doesn't change much."

"No, I guess not," she muttered from under the cloak, nuzzling the lining a bit, but flushed when she realized she'd been doing it, especially because it smelled like him. "J-Just... not now."

"Yeah, you don't have to tell them anything 'til you're ready." He smiled and slid down until he was laying in the bed.

"But... I shouldn't be worrying them," she replied quietly with a soft frown.

"Well, it is your choice, and best you do it whenever you're comfortable with it," he said and turned his head to look at the lump that was Nami under his cloak. "But they do deserve to know, and Gen-ossan is getting more worried, not knowing what happened."

She sighed underneath it and said, "I know. I know they're worried. I should... talk to them later. I _will_ talk to them later." How was it that she could talk to him so comfortably like this? So trusting...

Both were content to remain silent after she had spoken, but after a while, Luffy said, "Feel like getting some dinner?"

"Yeah, I guess so," she said, but she still didn't budge from under the cloak, and then she said, "Mm... Luffy?"

"Yeah?" He looked behind him, having sat up and was now sitting on the edge of the bed.

"If... I... you know... freak out again... and say something... like... Y-You'll just... play along with it, r-right? I just got scared, and... first thing I could think of is... men usually leave a married woman alone. I-It... didn't mean anything or anything."

Luffy's heart panged, when she said it didn't mean anything. Nonetheless... "Don't worry, I won't get any expectations from posing as your husband... Except, of course, for getting a good night's sleep. Actually," he thought about it, "could I get something out of my robe?"

"Oh," she flushed darkly, "right ..." she said, finally coming out from under it and handing it back to him, without looking at him.

Luffy reached into one of his pockets and pulled out two rings. "Here," he said and handed a diamond one to Nami, "this way, it'll be more believable when you tell people I'm your husband." He slipped his ring onto his right ring finger.

Her blush deepened as she took the ring from him and looked up at him, but then she quickly looked down at it. "R-Right, thanks. That's-That's more helpful," she said before slipping it onto her left finger, though it seemed to go in slow motion and heavy, her heart pounding furiously.

"So," he held his right hand out to her, "ready... honey?" He grinned, a little bit mocking, but entirely good natured.

She pursed her lips, her cheeks flushing brightly, but then she blinked and said, "Um... Luffy... your ring."

"Huh?" He blinked and looked down at it. "What about it?"

"I-It's on the wrong hand. D-Don't you know... about... You know?" she asked, blinking at him with a flush.

"Wrong hand?" he asked and tilted his head. "Well... I've never really been interested... in stuff like this... so I never found out... I guess..." He took the ring off and put it on his left hand. He held it up for Nami to look at. "How's that?"

"B-Better," she replied, looking away from him with a deeper flush. "Anyways... let's go eat," she said and then stood to leave.

"Yeah," he replied and followed her down to the eating area, where the rest of their group was starting to all congregate.

Once they went to sit down, Gen immediately spied the rings. "What is this!?" he almost bellowed, grabbing Nami's hand to point out to her the ring.

Frowning deeply with a flush, Nami yanked her hand back and put it in her lap securely. "I-It's just a guise. S-So... they don't... bother me as long as they think I'm taken," she said, staring down at the ring in her lap.

"Where did you get it from?" Nojiko asked Nami, looking over the table at the ring.

"Um... L-Luffy... had them," she replied, but then frowned in confusion. _Why_ did he have them? She thought, looking over at him to give the answer.

"So," Nojiko said, looking at Luffy, "where did _you_ get them from?"

"Dragon horde," Luffy said, looking to see if the food was arriving.

"D-Dragon... what?" Nami asked, quirking a brow in confusion.

"Dragon horde," he repeated and looked at her. "You know, where dragon's keep their treasure? They love gold and sparkly things."

Gen, Vivi and Nami just gaped at him in amazement, but only Nami could speak up. "You've actually _fought_ a dragon?" Nami asked, blinking at him.

"Of course not," Luffy said and rolled his eyes. "Don't you remember me trying to convince you to help me take one on? It was Gramps that beat the Dragon..." Luffy said and shuddered. "He let me and Ace pick stuff from the treasure. Then he gave me those two rings and said something about waiting to find the right person to give one of them to... but I don't really know much about it or what he really meant."

Gen snorted loudly with a deep frown, and Nami flushed a bit more, lowering her head. "Oh," she muttered and cleared her throat.

Luffy looked around the table and asked, "Why?"

Gen didn't bother to reply as he looked away, but then he muttered, "I agree with Na-chan... The boy's an idiot..."

Nami lowered her head further, embarrassed beyond words, though she wasn't sure why.

"Yeah," Nojiko said, staring at Luffy.

"Geez, every one's being rude," Luffy said and pouted.

Nami closed her eyes, a strange feeling hitting the bottom of her gut. She didn't like this... Why? "Where's the damn food?" she suddenly growled in her unknown annoyance as she lifted her head with a deep frown on her face.

Robin smiled knowingly and pointed at the waitress, who was just arriving with their meals.

"'Bout time," Nami muttered as the plates were set down, and she began to eat. Gen frowned at her deeply, wondering why she'd gotten upset all of a sudden.

Luffy started eating, already having let the insults slide off him like he was used to. Lifting her eyes up to him, Nami felt the dropping feeling again. She swallowed hard, and was beginning to think the feeling was guilt. How did he really feel about being insulted?

Once he'd finished his food, Luffy glanced over at Nami's and asked, "You going to finish that?"

She pushed it towards him without looking at him or saying anything. She didn't give him a hard time, nor did she tease him.

Luffy blinked to this. She wasn't acting like herself. "You all right?" he asked her and tilted his head.

"I'm fine," she muttered, but didn't say anything else, nor did she look up. Frowning slightly, he then just decided to let it go. He did not want to push her, after all.

After dinner was finished, Luffy leaned back in his chair and asked, "How much longer is it going to take to reach Mariejoie?"

"Probably a day and a half worth of travel," Robin replied and calmly sipped her coffee.

"Ah," Luffy said and looked at Vivi. "How soon are you meant to be there?"

"We... might be a little behind, but we should at least arrive on the same day I was expected," Vivi said, offering him a smile.

"That's good," Luffy said and smiled. "So, what are you meant to do when we get there anyway?"

"Some diplomatic conference," Vivi said with a sigh. "It's all important to my father and I."

"Oh?" Luffy asked, tilting his head in curiosity.

"Do you have any idea why that man tried to kidnap you?" Robin asked Vivi.

Vivi's face fell, and then she said, "Most likely, because he didn't want me to negotiate with them. It would mean he would lose a lot of money."

"Money?" Luffy asked and frowned, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. That sounded a little too familiar... He even began to sweat a bit. "You know him?"

"S-Somewhat," she replied, frowning deeper. "H-He has always been... a very greedy man; always caring about money above all else. He doesn't care about others at all. It's always about the money. Doesn't care about who he hurts, as long as he gets his hands on it," she said very quietly, her face saddening, and suddenly, Gen turned to glare at Luffy, and Nami managed to lower her head further.

Luffy looked away from everyone else, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

Sanji scoffed as he also looked over to Luffy. "Sounds familiar," he muttered and glared to the mage.

"Mm, anyway, if the negotiations go in our favor. Croc would lose shares... and money," Vivi continued with a sigh, but then she suddenly beamed and looked up at Luffy, "but, because of you, he can't stop us now! Thank you, Luffy-san!"

"Oh... uhm... you're welcome," he said and chuckled nervously. It felt like he didn't deserve the praise, as he glanced over at Nami.

She still had her head lowered, and after a moment, she just stood up. "I'm... tired," she said before turning and heading upstairs. She headed straight for the bathroom then to soak in the tub and help herself relax. It had been a long day.

Luffy followed after her, not really feeling like being around the others. Most of them hated him as it was, and Robin and Zoro wanted to stay out of it. When he got into the room, he didn't see Nami, and figured she was in the bathroom or somewhere. He pulled off his robe and shirt, it was starting to get a little warm, and laid down on the bed, closing his eyes.

After soaking in the hot water for awhile, she wrapped herself in a towel before stepping out into the room with a sigh. She headed for her bag to grab her nightdress and just dropped her towel to pull it on. Luffy looked up, when he heard Nami come out of the bathroom, then suddenly dropped her towel, and just stared, his jaw practically unhinged. He quickly laid back down on the bed, his eyes shut tightly. Unfortunately his face was bright red, and Mini-Luffy wanted to stand at attention.

After she dressed, and when she turned around, she gasped loudly with a cry as her hands flew to her mouth. "Ooh! L-Luffy... y-you...!"

"Sleeping!" he insisted. "I didn't see anything!"

"S-Sleeping!?" she hissed, but then scowled back at him. "_You can't sleep_!" she shrieked, but then she stopped, took a breath, and then just climbed into the bed without saying a word. It wasn't his fault. He had no idea she was going to walk out like that, and she had no idea he was there.

When nothing happened, he opened an eye to glance at her. "Umm..."

"L-Let's just... go to sleep," she muttered in a surprisingly calm voice.

"Oh... sure..." he said and rolled over, his back to her. "Sorry..."

"D-Don't worry about it," she muttered, scooting over, but before she pressed her chest to his back, she wrapped her arm around him, blinking a bit before finally moving all the way over to press herself against his back.

Luffy blinked, when he felt her arm wrap around him, but then she hesitated. As he felt his consciousness fade, he muttered, "Thank you... for helping me, despite everything that's happened."

"You're welcome," she replied back softly, and then she whispered, "Good night, Luffy ..."

"Good night... Nami," he murmured and fell asleep.

x x x x

Nami blinked, finding herself standing in a beautiful garden. Circling around, she found herself smiling brightly, feeling happy. For what reason, she wasn't sure, but then her smile faded, when she spotted Luffy, standing some distance away and smiling at her. It was the way he was smiling, that made her feel so warm... and safe. She found herself smiling back. Then her body launched forward as she laughed, and she threw herself into his arms, watching as he laughed. A glint caught her eyes, and she looked down at what had sparkled. It was a diamond ring - the same one Luffy'd given her to wear. She felt so happy. Then he cupped her cheek, much like he'd done the night she'd been assaulted. She had felt safe then. Then he leaned down, his lips so close to hers, and her heart leapt into her chest. However, she felt something else, something holding her back from connecting with him.

Suddenly, she was blinking her eyes open, still feeling warm and safe, and she sleepily looked up to see Luffy's face so close to hers, from where she lay slightly over his chest. Luffy sighed in his sleep, his arms tightening around Nami's waist, and a small, content smile formed on his sleeping face. His breath brushed across her face, so warm, making her shiver and goose bumps to form across her skin. His smile... was almost like her dream, or maybe she was still dreaming. That was it. She was still dreaming. Though, unbeknownst to her, she was definitely still in a sleepy daze. So, if it was a dream, whatever happened in the dream, just stayed with her, right? She leaned forward a bit, so close to his lips...

Nojiko walked over to her sister's room. Earlier, Vivi had expressed a desire to leave as soon as possible. So, Nojiko was going to wake Nami and Luffy. She came to the door and knocked.

Nami gasped at the knock on the door, shooting straight up, her face burning bright red, though her hand was still resting on his chest. She was awake!? What had she been thinking!? It hadn't been a dream at all! "Uh... wha-what?"

"Are you awake in there?" Nojiko called through the door.

"Um... yes," Nami said, rubbing her eyes and trying to wake up fully. Then she looked down at Luffy, placing her hand back on his chest to hold herself up. "Wha-What's going on?" she asked her sister, flushing even darker.

Nojiko opened the door, paused and cocked an eyebrow at their positions, though she noted the mage was still out cold. She also could not help noting, that both were still wearing their rings. They hadn't removed them to sleep. "Vivi wanted to leave as soon as possible. Everyone else is getting breakfast, and then we plan on leaving."

"Oh, right. Okay," Nami said, turning to shake Luffy. "Luffy, wake up." Luffy groaned in his sleep, his arms coming out to wrap around her and bring her down to hold, still out cold. Nojiko smirked in amusement, especially to her sister's reaction. "Lu-Lu-Lu-Luffy! W-Wake up, I said! Let go!" she said and pushed against his chest, her entire face burning a bright red.

"Huh.. .wha?" Luffy's eyes blinked open, and then he looked over to her, so close to him. "Oh... Hey, Nami..."

Nojiko chuckled and left the room, closing the door behind her.

"D-Don't hey, me! Let go!" she said, finally pushing away, and he let her go. She straightened herself out and said, "Vivi wants to get an early start. We have to go," she said, climbing out of the bed to grab her clothes to get dressed.

"Oh, okay," he sat up and stretched with a yawn. He then grabbed his shirt and robe and pulled them on, heading to the door. He paused at the door and turned to look at Nami. "How did you sleep last night?"

"F-Fine," she replied, fighting a major blush and trying not to think about her dream or anything else thereafter. After all, it was just a stupid dream. It wasn't really like that, and it wasn't what she wanted at all... Then she headed into the bathroom to change.

"Oh," he said and shrugged, not really sure why he'd asked the question. "I'll see you downstairs then."

"Right," she called from inside the bathroom, her hands still on the doorknob. Biting her lip, she then quickly changed before heading down. She was wearing one of her dresses, instead of the leather pants. She wasn't sure why, but... she wanted to feel normal today. It was a pretty maroon red with black lining and gold trim. She'd braided her hair a little differently, smaller braids on either side of her head before her longer braid flowed down her back to match the dress. She ignored the stares as she sat down, keeping silent.

Luffy looked over at Nami, tilting his head, and then he asked, "You did your hair differently today?"

Everyone else remained silent and just looked between them. Gen was a bit surprised the boy had even noticed how she wore her hair before, to note she was wearing it differently now. Sanji, on the other hand, glared at the rubber mage. He had been about to compliment her on her new hairstyle as well as the dress, but the idiot had beat him to it.

"Yeah," she replied with a shrug. "Dress was pretty... so... just decided to do something different," she replied quietly.

"Oh... it looks nice," he said, mater of fact and then turned back to his food. He had not intended it to be a flattering compliment, but instead was just being honest with her.

Why did this bother her? Her head lowered to his indifference, but she refused to show more as she began to eat, lifting her chin into the air forcedly. Gen was frowning very deeply at the two. Something had suddenly changed about Nami. He had to wonder if it had something to do with her sudden fear yesterday.

Robin was very interested in how things were changing between the two. It was almost as if fate was conspiring to form feelings between the two of them. Had the young woman been fishing for a compliment from him unconsciously? Well, she had received one, but not quite how she would have liked. The poor mage was obliviously, and amusingly, so was the orange haired young woman.

After Nami finished eating, feeling a little more courage with the ring on her finger, she grabbed an apple and walked outside, not saying a word to anyone. Smiling when she saw Merry in the stable and feeling safe with the horse, she cooed her greeting to him, "Good morning, Merry." She held her hand out to feed him the apple. "Did you sleep well? You know, I had a weird dream," she said, losing her smile, and then she sighed. Closing her eyes, she just pressed her forehead against Merry's.

Merry chewed the apple, nuzzling his forehead against Nami's. Luffy paused, having come to check on Merry. He was his horse after all, but something about the way Nami was speaking told him to wait.

"It bothered me a bit," she whispered, petting him softly and keeping her eyes closed, "but at the same time... it was kind of nice. Maybe... I don't know..." But then she scoffed to herself. "You don't need to hear this," she whispered softly, opening her eyes slowly to stare down at Merry sadly. "Did you like your apple, Merry?"

Merry nodded with a snort. Luffy decided he didn't want her thinking he was eavesdropping on her, even though he was, and left.

She smiled then and said, "That's good ..." After awhile of staying with Merry, she finally went back to get her things, thinking the others should be done eating by now.

Luffy had gathered up his things and was looking out the window in the room. A dream... that was kind of nice, maybe not? It didn't make sense. Her confusion compounded his own confusion, and left him trying to figure out what she meant to him. He couldn't deny he cared about her well being, but whether it extended beyond that, he couldn't say.

Nami climbed the stairs rather slowly and entered the room to grab her things, ignoring the fact that Luffy was in there. Luffy looked over at Nami, when she opened the door, and then looked back out the window, not saying anything. After she'd gotten it all in her bag, she lifted it up... and left the room, all without saying a word. Luffy grabbed his own bag and followed after her to where the rest of the group was getting the horses ready.

Nami gave Merry a kiss on his head, whispered something, and then climbed into the back of the cart with Vivi, who frowned at her deeply, but softly. Then Vivi looked over at Luffy. Luffy blinked, feeling somewhat hurt by Nami's action, but climbed onto Merry without saying a word about it.

Though, Merry gave a neigh and paced in place. He was definitely hurt that Nami wasn't riding with him, and her whispered apology did nothing to quell is feelings.

"Well," Luffy finally started, breaking the uncomfortable silence, "let's see if we can't get the rest of the way today."

"Right," Gen muttered with a deep frown as he eyed Luffy.

Nami smoothed out her skirt, but said nothing at all, and the journey there was pure silence, which Gen was beginning to miss the bickering a bit. The silence held a coldness to it... an eeriness. He didn't like it.

Nojiko frowned at her sister. Something was off. The atmosphere didn't feel right. Not at all.

Sanji, glad that Luffy wasn't bothering Nami, glanced over at her. Why, if she couldn't stand the mage, and only ever fought with him, could he see underlying confusion and sadness in this silence?

x x x x

Mariejoie was the biggest city Nami had ever seen. And it also made her the most nervous she'd ever been. There were men _everywhere_. She curled up a bit within herself, half wishing she was sitting atop Merry at that moment. Maybe if she didn't look at anyone, they wouldn't notice her.

"Good to be home," Luffy said and grinned. As if sensing Nami's tension, he glanced back at Nami and said, "Don't worry. Most of the men here are mages."

Looking up at him then, her fear was there, but when he said this, she looked around at all the men, who didn't seem to notice them at all. The others were slightly surprised, that he spoke up about it. It was as if, he just knew or sensed her thoughts. Or maybe it was just that he cared enough and just knew.

Luffy smiled and said, "There's a lot of guilds in the city, especially in the city proper. Most craftsmen and other professions live outside the city, in smaller suburbs." He pointed out some outlying villages spread around the plains the city was built on. "Law enforcement is completely made up of mages, with a few swordsmen and martial artists, who are all equipped with magic repellant gear. It's perfectly safe here. And the best wizard scholars live here. We'll be able to figure out what exactly your power is."

"Oh, okay," she said, relaxing considerably as she began to look around her and take in the sights, the others doing the same.

"So," Luffy said, turning to Vivi, "where is it you needed to go?"

"There," Vivi said and pointed to the biggest place that was the most visible in the entire city - the palace.

Luffy whistled and then said, "Never been there before." He led the group through the city, every once in a while calling out a greeting to someone he knew.

Nami, feeling better, started to smile as she looked around at everything, and then she said, "I would like to... explore everything here."

"We could do that," Luffy said with a nod, "when we go see some scholars later."

"Yeah, all right," she said, smiling at everything her eyes laid upon.

They managed to make their way to the palace. When they approached, the guards stopped them. After all, it was a pretty ragtag looking group that they made up.

Vivi made her way off and approached them with a smile. "I am princess Vivi. I've come for the negotiations for my father, King Cobra."

"Of course," the guards stood aside, letting their group pass through the gates.

Smiling and bowing slightly, Vivi entered back into the cart, and then they all went inside. "Thank you so much for helping me get here," she said, smiling at them brightly.

"Of course, my lady... It was our pleasure to have escorted such a lovely and most kind woman such as yourself to safety. Your kindness and warm smile was enough to make it all worth it in the end, and we do hope that things go well for you and your father at the negotiations," Sanji said and bowed deeply atop his horse, which was no easy feat.

Luffy blinked at the man, but then turned to look at Vivi. "Yeah, what he said," he said and pointed at Sanji.

Staring at Sanji's handsome face and listening to his graceful words, Vivi's cheeks flushed a pretty pink before she smiled and bowed to him. "Thank you so much, Sanji-san," she replied in a soft voice, wondering why it was that the blonde man had hardly spoken at all during the journey, "I am so honored to have met all of you."

"Ah, my princess," Sanji said, taking her hand into his, "the honor is ours," and he gently kissed the back of her hand, never removing his eyes from hers.

The flush ripened in color to a full blown blush as she gaped at him, her breath hitching a bit before she smiled shyly and lowered her eyes. He was very handsome indeed, and so flattering.

Robin smiled. Well, watching these people certainly was entertaining.

"Got ourselves a lover boy, do we?" Zoro said and scoffed, his eyes closed with his hands behind his head. "He magically quirked his curly brow, and suddenly he can talk to women then?"

Nami smiled then, finding it weird that the sullen and usually quiet man was speaking.

Sanji's eyebrow twitched. "Shut it, moss head."

Luffy hadn't even been able to follow any of what Sanji had said. "What'd he say?" he whispered to Nami. "None of it made any sense."

Nami turned to him and smiled, while shaking her head. "Don't worry about it. It's not even important."

Vivi pouted then, her cheeks still flushed, and said, "I-It was... very flattering!" Like she'd said... not important...

"I... see..." Luffy said and shrugged. "So, now what are we meant to do?"

"Just... take me to the entrance there," Vivi said, pointing to the main doors. "Hopefully, Pell and Igaram will come soon to be able to pay you."

"That's good," Luffy said with a nod. "Hope the peace thingies go well."

"Of course they will," Sanji said and scowled to Luffy, "if it's Lady Vivi representing her father."

Vivi flushed again and turned to smile at Sanji. "Thank you, Sanji-san, and Luffy-san," she said, turning to also smile at Luffy, "I hope so as well."

They took her to the entrance, and once there, Luffy said, "So, since they're not here yet, we'll come by later, once they do, to pick up the fee."

"Yes, of course," Vivi said, smiling at him as she exited the cart, and a few guards came to escort her inside. "Thank you again!" she said, waving them farewell.

"Farewell, sweetest maiden," Sanji twirled, on his horse. Quite dexterous, that man.

"Ah, yeah," Luffy said and waved goodbye. "So," he turned to Nami, "to the guild now, and we can go find some scholars, while we wait to get paid?"

"I'd like to look around first, if that's all right?" she said, turning to offer him a smile.

He looked at her and then smiled. He was not about to turn that smile down. "Sure, we can do that. We might as well look for a place for everyone to stay while we do that as well."

"That sounds good. Let's do that," she said with her smile, turning to look at the town, while reaching up to tuck a stray strand behind her ear, which the wind had blown loose.

Luffy kept looking at her, and then he smiled. She looked so peaceful now... He liked it. For a good portion of the rest of the day Luffy played tour guide, showing them the sights, and at the same time, searching for an inn. Gen couldn't stop the deep frown he kept giving the two. What was going on? Nami was all smiles, yet it still seemed reserved - _she_ seemed reserved, though her smile was relatively genuine, and he didn't understand at all. He also couldn't help to notice how her sudden change made the boy happy.

Luffy tried his best to make Nami laugh. Part of her was closed, he felt that instinctively, and he wanted her to open up more, because he knew, that soon, he wouldn't be able to be around her anymore, which made him sad. They then stopped to visit a magic store, which Nami had pointed out.

"Ooh, wow. What do these do?" Nami asked, staring in awe at some very pretty trinkets.

"Oh," he said, looking at the small trinkets. "They all have minor charms on them. A few are good luck charms, some make the wearer more noticeable, some less..." He trailed off staring at a certain trinket. "Well..." he finally said, "I can buy you one if you want."

She turned to blink at him blankly, though her cheeks were a bit flushed, and then she smiled, "Really?"

"Yeah," Luffy pointed to the one that he'd been looking at, "how about that one?"

Looking towards it, flushing a bit more, she then smiled wider and said, "It's very pretty." Then she bit her lip, looking a bit conflicted, but then she said, "All right... Thank you."

Gen frowned much more deeply. How could this have happened?

"You're welcome," Luffy said and flushed. "It's a protection charm. Might come in handy later on."

"Oh," she said, smiling a little wider, "yeah, I hope so." She reached out to take it as he handed it to her, the flush still present.

"So," Luffy said as he paid for the charm, "is there anywhere else you'd like to see?"

"W-Well, a magic book store... would be nice," she said, bringing the charm closer to her chest and looking down at it.

Robin perked to this. She was always open to finding new magic books.

"Ah, I know a good one. It's actually really close to the guild as well, so they've got some high quality wares," Luffy said and led them to the book store, which he'd visited several times before.

"All right," Nami said, following close after him.

They made it to the store, a large, impressive building, filled to the brim with books, all organized by type and style of magic.

"Oh, wow," Nami breathed, but then gasped when a group of books passed by them without anyone carrying them.

"Yeah..." Luffy said as he came up beside her, "they do that sometimes..." He kept an eye on the books as they passed them by.

"R-Right," Nami said before looking ahead again, then looking side to side, to make sure there were no more passerby books, and then headed further in.

Luffy followed her inside, looking around at several of the books himself. "So, is there anything in particular you're looking for?"

"I'd... like to read up a bit more on the different types magic; see if there's anything else I can learn besides just weather manipulation," Nami said, looking about.

"Weather manipulation?" Gen muttered, looking around at everything. It all looked like boring books to him.

Nojiko was moderately interested, but felt out of place in the bookstore. Whereas, Robin had already wandered off into the rare book section, Sanji was in the elemental section, and even Zoro had headed off towards the enchantments section.

"Well," Luffy started as he looked about, "there are several different kinds you can try. Elemental magic, body manipulation, regular manipulation, illusions, enchantments... curses..."

"Elemental... illusions... enchantments... curses," she repeated in a soft whisper as she ran her fingers over some spines, though she didn't feel anything like how she had with the weather manipulation books. "Those sound... interesting..."

"No luck finding anything?" he asked her.

"I don't feel anything, no," she replied quietly before turning to him. "Where are... illusions?"

"Uhmm..." Luffy looked around and then pointed down an aisle, "that way."

Turning to where he pointed, she then headed for the aisle and stared at the spines. After a moment, she lifted a hand and touched one of the spines, but then gasped, quickly moving her hand away. Her lips curved into a smile before reaching for the book.

"What'd you find?" Luffy asked, looking up from another book, that wasn't making any sense to him.

"It seems... I'm fitted for illusions as well," she said, flipping through the pages.

"That's cool," Luffy said with a smile. "I never managed to get the hang of those."

"This looks like it could be fun," she said, reading over some of the affects from using the magic and what they do.

Luffy looked at the book suspiciously, and then he asked with a purse to his lips, "You're not going to use those to mess with me are you?"

She got a bit of a glint and sparkle in her eye as she turned to him. "Fufufu~!"

Luffy backed away with a deeper purse and said, "You wouldn't!"

She burst out laughing and said, "You're so stupid! I'm just having fun with you!"

"I dunno," he said and looked at her even more suspiciously. "You just might." But then he grinned.

She was still laughing, her cheeks cherry before she looked back down at the book, still smiling. He smiled at her, he was incredibly glad that she was happy now. Especially since, she was happy around him.

"I think I will get a few of these. The basics," she said, skimming the titles, while bringing the book she held to her chest.

"'Kay," Luffy said and nodded. "Which ones as well did you want?"

"Mmm, enchantments," she replied slowly and quietly. She looked around again and already holding about three books in her arms.

"Okay," he said as he looked at them. "Is that all, or did you want more?"

She looked over at him, and her cheeks flushed at how eager he was to get her whatever she wanted. "W-Well," she started on a thought, "I... I don't want to use to much of my money so... Just... enchantments," she said, looking away from him.

"Nah, don't worry about it," he insisted. "I've got these."

Turning to him, her cheeks flushed even darker, and then she lowered her gaze, her eyes softening a bit. "Oh... thanks..."

Man, she looked really cute, when she blushed like that. "You're... You're welcome," he said shyly.

Gen snorted softly from the other aisle. This was absolute nonsense...

"S-So... where... where is it?" she asked quietly, keeping her head down.

"Where is what?" He was too busy looking at her to register anything else.

"Um... the... the enchantments aisle," she replied, not being able to look at him.

"Oh," he quickly perked and flushed more, "this way," he said and took her hand, leading her further down the aisle.

Her cheeks flared to life further as she stared down at their hands. What was this feeling? It felt so light... and... pretty good. As she stared down at their hands, her fingers slowly curled around his.

Luffy swallowed hard, sort of surprised she allowed him to keep her hand, and he felt her fingers closing around his. Her hand felt... so small, like a little bird, her pulse, like its heart. His fingers also curled around hers as he led her to the enchantments section.

Once they made it there, she actually felt regretful releasing his hand, and thus did so slowly. Going over to the books, she looked over their spines and touched them lightly. Reaching up, she touched one and felt a powerful spark, which made her blink. "Oh!" she exclaimed, bringing her hand back quickly with a gasp. It was far stronger than the weather manipulation.

Luffy frowned at the book and asked, "Is your hand all right?"

"Y-Yes," she replied, reaching up to take the book. "The shock was... so strong. Stronger than even weather manipulations."

"Well," he said, "at least, now we know, that whatever ability you have over men, is most likely a type of enchantment."

"I see," she said, opening the book to skim through it a bit, "but why can't I control it," she said, frowning softly, "and how does it even work?"

"We'll have to figure that one out later, I'm afraid. It might take a while, but we just might get lucky and find someone who knows what it's about."

"Yeah, all right," she replied softly before grabbing of a few of the basics and turning to him with a smile. "I'm ready."

He smiled back at her and said, "Well, let's go pay for them then."

He led her to the front counter, where a small line of people were waiting. Among them, Robin, who was waiting along with Sanji, who was carrying a large pile of books, his and hers. Robin was reading one of them, while waiting in line. After Luffy'd taken her books to carry, which made her blush a little more, Nami then followed him to the front, seeing the others there with Gen and Nojiko waiting to the side. The line took a while to get through, but finally they were able to pay for the books.

"How much?" Luffy asked the cashier.

"That will be fifty-three gold pieces." Nami blinked at the cashier's reply. That was quite a bit for a few books.

Luffy dug out the money from his pockets and handed it to the cashier. "Here you go."

"Thank you very much. Enjoy your books, sir," she said, giving them a smile.

As they walked off, Nami muttered softly, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," he said and smiled at her. He could definitely get used to this, and that was definitely the best spent fifty-three gold pieces.

**To Be Continued...**

**Authors' Notes:**

Con: D'aww, that was so cute~! *^^* It seems they're finally coming together~! So fluffy~!

Darth: Yes. Absolutely nothing could possibly go wrong here.

Con: Never~! Love only grows! ... Right? O.o

Darth: That's not what life has taught me.

Con: This is true... *Rubs chin* ~.~ Naaah, we're just messing with you guys! :-D Or are we? ~.~ Hmm...

Darth: We totally are.

Con: Totally... Anyways, until next time! :-D

Darth: See ya.


	16. Chapter 16: She Cries

**Authors' Notes:**

Con: Uh oh... That title doesn't look good... ~.~ What have we done? ~,~

Darth: I blame it entirely on you.

Con: Say, whaaaa!? D: Oh wait. You're right, but that's what I do best. ^^ Though, they still don't know what it is we've done! X)

Darth: Muwahaha.

Con: Muwahaha, indeed. :-) Anyways, we'll let you guys get to it. X) Enjoy~~!

P.S. from Con: Okay guys, so this is one of my favorite chapters. I've read it over and over again. I really hope you guys enjoy it. :) I want to see more reviews!

**Charmed**

**Chapter 16: She Cries**

After they left the book store, Gen turned to Luffy, looking grumpy with a frown, and asked, "So, now where to?"

"I guess we could go to find an inn now," Nami said, looking about.

"There's several closer to the guilds, that way our group isn't too far apart for now," Luffy said and pointed towards several large buildings.

"That's fine. Let's go have a look," Nami said with a smile as she went to pet Merry, her dress flowing about her.

Luffy climbed onto Merry and turned to look down at Nami. "Do you want up?" he asked and held his hand out.

Flushing lightly, she then smiled and took his hand to climb up atop Merry again. It felt right for her to be sitting there again. Luffy smiled as they started riding towards the inn. Somehow, everything felt right the way they were. Once they made it to the inn, Zoro insisted he was fine and walked inside on his own. Nami went to the counter, relieved to see a woman this time behind it.

"Hello, how may I help you?" the woman asked, when Nami approached the counter.

"We would like... Um..." Nami turned to Luffy then. "Are we all staying here?"

"Well," Luffy said, thinking about it, "I have my own place to stay. It's not that far from here..."

"Oh... then... I guess... I will be coming with you then," she said, looking down with a blush as she smoothed out her skirts. Why was she so nervous suddenly? "I guess the others could stay here."

"Like hell! I go where Na-chan goes!" Gen exclaimed with a deep frown.

Luffy winced and said, "In that case it's better we all stay here, while you're in Mariejoie." He nodded to the woman behind the counter. "Two doubles and one single, please?"

"Of course," the woman said took down three keys from the wall and handed them to Nami.

"Thank you," Nami said, handing Gen one set and Nojiko the other before moving upstairs to put away their things. "Should we visit the guild after we eat then?" she asked Luffy, knowing everyone was behind her.

"That sounds like a good idea," Luffy said, following behind her.

"I, too, wouldn't mind going," Robin said, "since I have in mind to do some research on them."

"All right," Nami said, unlocking their room and trudging in before setting down her bags.

"What guild are you a part of anyway?" Sanji asked, as he stopped at their door.

"Devil's Fist, why do you ask?" Luffy said as he followed Nami into the room.

Sanji's eyes widened, and he couldn't help, but gasp.

Nami came back out just in time to hear that, and then she blinked at Sanji, "Sanji-kun?"

"Yes, Nami-swan~?"

"Why did you look so surprised?" she asked, her frown softening as she turned to Luffy. Luffy was behind her, but he was just staring at Sanji, blankly, though there was something in his eyes.

"You mean..." Sanji started, as he gaped at Nami, but then he shook his head. "Oh, no reason in particular. It's just a very famous guild, I was surprised, a shit head like him, was a member of it."

"Oi!" Luffy yelled and glared back at Sanji. "I'll have you know my family runs the guild!"

Sanji's eyes went wide, even more surprised to hear that. Was he telling the truth? Nami couldn't help the little giggle that escaped her lips as a fist was brought to her lips.

"Well," Luffy muttered, "let's get something to eat. I'm hungry."

"Yeah, all right," Nami said, smiling brightly as she headed back downstairs.

The rest of the group followed, Sanji glaring at Luffy now, but with a kind of new found respect and wariness.

Once downstairs, they all gathered around a table and ordered their food. Nami was in a better mood than she usually was and was chattering away to her sister and Gen. Luffy ordered his food, and waited for it to come. He glanced over at Nami, watching her talking away, but during a pause, he smiled and said, "Glad to see you're in a good mood."

"Hmm?" she questioned, looking over at Luffy, her expression blank, though she was smiling. "What?"

"You're smiling," he said and smiled at her. "I'm glad to see you happy."

Her smile faded as she gaped at Luffy, and then her cheeks reddened considerably as she looked down. "O-Oh..."

"Ack, sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to embarrass you."

Gen rolled his eyes, his brows deeply curved into his nose. Nami bit her lip and shook her head. "No, it's all right. I... I feel better here, knowing that nothing should happen, s-since... mostly everyone here are mages or protected from magic."

"Na-chan... what happened?" Gen finally asked and frowned at her softly, wanting to know what had gotten her so spooked.

Sighing deeply, Nami kept her head lowered as she frowned softly and said, "I wondered off on my own, and... I was upset... from the bad argument with Luffy. A few men, who had been enchanted by me somehow, approached me, wanting to comfort me. It got out of hand, and they began fighting over me. Next thing I know, my clothes are being pulled... every which way. Then, my clothes began to tear, and the fighting stopped, but then... hands were touching me." As she spoke, tears came to her eyes. "Then... Luffy... he was just there..." She sniffled, bringing up a hand to wipe the tears from her eyes, "and he made them go away." Gen could only gape in shock.

Around the table there were similar reactions, though Robin and Zoro both remained stoic, only sporting frowns. Nojiko gasped her eyes widening and filling with tears. "Nami..."

Luffy looked away, having rested his elbows on table, and now had his lips pressed to his raised hands. Then he looked at Nami and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Nami hiccupped softly, still wiping at her eyes and appreciating his comfort. "I-I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

Gen could now see why the boy blamed himself, but was still surprised by his guilt.

"Nami..." Nojiko called and reached across the table, placing her hand over Nami's.

Looking up, Nami attempted a smile and said, "I'm all right now. I just... get a little scared in cities and towns."

Luffy gently clenched her shoulder, and smiled at her. He would always be there to protect her. Her cheeks flushed as she looked over to Luffy before lowering her head again, though she was smiling. Soon, the waitress came back and set down their food, and Nami slowly began to eat. Now that the food was there, Luffy released Nami's shoulder and started eating as well.

After they had finished their meal, Nami stood up and said, "Well, I'm ready to figure out my abilities now. Shall we go?"

"Yeah," Luffy said, standing up. "Is everyone else coming as well?"

"Of course!" Gen bellowed as he stood to follow.

"I'd like to see this guild," Zoro muttered as he also stood.

"This has been my intention from the beginning," Robin said as she also followed after them.

"I'm not letting Nami out of my sight," Nojiko said and went straight to her sister, taking her hand in hers.

"As will I," Sanji said, also following. Now he was curious to see this guild for himself, not to mention, it was the most famous.

"Right," Nami said, smiling a little nervously as she started heading out, her fingers curling around her sister's.

Luffy walked on her other side, leading the group to the guild. "Here we are," he said after a while and stopped in front of a large building.

"Wow, it's really big," Nami said, gaping up at the large construct.

"Yeah," Luffy said and shrugged, "but it's more important, what you use the space for, rather than how much there is."

"Oh, I see," she said, though she wasn't entirely sure what he was talking about.

"Yeah," Luffy said and blinked. "Really not sure why I said that... Wanna go inside?"

"Yes, please," Nami said, smiling at him.

Luffy led them passed the tall gates and into the building. "Most of the guild is made of a common area, where there's food and drink, and job postings. Then there's the office areas, and the library is down that way," he said and pointed off into a side branch of the building.

"Oh, wow," Nami said, looking around.

"Oi, Luffy!" a voice suddenly called, and looking over, Nami could see a freckled man, grinning at Luffy with another man beside him, a tattoo on his face, who was also smiling.

"Ace, Dad," Luffy called and ran over to his family. "I'm back!" He grinned at them and motioned to them. "This is my dad and my brother! Anyways, anything happen, while I was gone?"

"Meh, the usual. You know Gramps," Ace said with a shrug.

The tattooed man kept staring at the group, making Nami nervous. Ace... and dad? Was the tattooed man really Luffy's father then? "Who're they?" Dragon suddenly asked.

"Oh..." Luffy said and was suddenly apprehensive, "they're just... friends I met during the journey..."

"Friends?" Dragon asked, his voice low, but a slow smile curved across his lips. "Just friends?" he asked again before making his way to them. Taking Robin's hand, he pressed his lips to the back of it, all the while keeping his eyes on hers. "Welcome then. My name is Dragon. It's a pleasure."

Robin just smiled calmly and said, "Yes."

"Oi!" Sanji cried and glared at the man. "What do you think you're doing?"

Then Dragon suddenly moved on to Nami, ignoring the others for now, as he kissed her hand as well and said, "My dear, an absolute pleasure."

Nami blinked at the man rapidly, her eyes wide, though surprisingly, she wasn't afraid. There was a calmness about the man that made her feel at ease. "H-Hello, it's nice to meet you," she said and then cleared her throat.

"Oi, oi, knock that off, old man," Luffy said and blanched. His eyebrow twitched violently.

Ace smirked at Dragon before looking over at Luffy. What was he upset about?

"Why you...?" Sanji seethed and scowled to the man.

Dragon then moved on to Nojiko, doing pretty much the same. He kissed the back of her hand and said, "Most certainly an absolute pleasure."

Nojiko's cheeks flared. "Oh... I... umm... uh..." Wow, was this really Luffy's father? He was so... smooth, and the brother was hot.

"Oi, you son of a bitch!" Sanji exclaimed, ready to attack.

"Might we have the honor of your names?" Dragon asked, smiling at Robin first, since he greeted her first and ignoring Sanji altogether, seeing as he had reacted to all three.

So, which one had Luffy claimed? Ace thought, looking between all three women. He was pretty sure he knew already, but he wanted to be sure.

Robin chuckled and said, "Robin."

"N-Nojiko," Nojiko said and smiled to the man, her cheeks flushing.

"N-Nami," she replied, her cheeks also flushing lightly.

Luffy glared stepping towards Nami. "Knock it off, Dad!"

Ooh, the orange haired one? Ace smirked a little wider.

Dragon turned to Luffy, his expression bored, "What? I was just being friendly."

Luffy glared at his father and said, "What do you mean 'what?', and friendly my ass!" He pouted.

"You got a claim on them'r somethin'?" Dragon asked, still looking bored.

Nami's lips quirked in an amused smile, though her cheeks were flushed.

Then Ace stepped up to join Dragon, bowing deeply to the girls and said, "I am Ace. It's a pleasure."

Nojiko flushed to him and smiled. "Pleasure's all ours, Ace," she said, smirking slightly to him, and he smirked back to her.

Nami smiled, a hand going to her cheek as they flushed. "Suddenly, I'm beginning to wonder how Luffy's related to either of you. _How_ are you even related? He doesn't take after either one of you."

"Ah, well, we're not actually blood related. I was just sort of... adopted into the family since I was born. Maybe that's why," Ace said and grinned.

Luffy's eye twitched. She should meet Gramps, he thought to himself. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered, "stop acting so fresh."

Robin laughed softly. Very unlike his father and brother indeed.

Sanji's eyebrow twitched. How dare they...?

"You here to see Gramps?" Ace asked, his brow quirking curiously to Luffy.

"Uh," Luffy said, glaring at his father and brother, "yeah..."

"Well, he's busy right now," Ace said, starting to smile amusedly at Luffy.

"Please, make yourselves at home," Dragon said, looking between Luffy and Nami. He, of course, noted that Luffy only reacted to when he introduced himself to the orange haired one.

Ace then spoke up and said, "You should find them some rooms, Luffy."

Luffy flushed. "No..." he muttered and turned to Ace, "we already got some rooms at the inn down the road."

"An inn? Why?" Ace asked with a blink.

Nami flushed a bit harder as she lowered her head.

"Eh?" Luffy said and blinked. "Because they didn't want to split up, so we just all got rooms at the inn."

"Oh... Why couldn't you just come here?" Ace asked and tilted his head to the side.

Nami flushed harder, keeping her head down.

"Wait... we have space for them?" Luffy asked and blinked again.

"We could have managed," Dragon said with a shrug.

"Yeah, we have a few spare rooms not being used at the moment," Ace said with a smile.

"Oh," Luffy said and shrugged, "I guess we can move later..." He looked at Nami and asked, "Do you want to move here or stay in the inn?"

Ace's smile widened, watching as Luffy talked to the orange haired woman. No, he was actually asking her. So unusual, yet so amusing.

Looking up at him, Nami then shrugged, and looking around, she then said, "I guess we could stay here."

"Okay, I guess we can move here then," Luffy said and just nodded sagely, as if he had decided all by himself, which he did not.

"Yeah, okay-Luffy, come here. I need to talk to you," Ace said, motioning for Luffy to follow, and then he wrapped an arm around Luffy's shoulders to pull him away from the group.

"Huh?" Luffy blinked in confusion, and looked at Nami over his shoulder, allowing Ace to lead him away, but then he asked, "What's up?" He was wary of leaving Nami around Dragon.

"So, really... who are they?" Ace asked as soon as they were out of earshot.

"Oh..." Well, he supposed he could tell his brother. "Nami was a client from the last job I took."

"Okay... and?" Ace asked, quirking his brow.

"Well... I kinda broke their town, and she refused to pay. So, I kidnapped her 'til she paid me back..." Why did his logic sound so much stupider now that he was saying it aloud again?

Ace shrugged then and said, "That sounds about right. Gramps would'a done that. One thing though... She doesn't look like she minds."

"You've gotta be joking me!?" Luffy burst out, but then quickly quieted down. "She's been making the whole trip miserable ever since I grabbed her!"

Ace's eyes widened as he leaned back to the sudden outburst, and Nami frowned as she looked over at them. After a moment, Ace just blinked and said, "All right, so why do you seem to be over protective of her?"

"I... don't know," Luffy said and slowly frowned more softly. Why _was_ he so over protective of her? Especially how she'd always been trying to make him miserable. "Well... she has some kind of magical ability, a pretty wide range too, but there's something about her that breaks the, no sleep, curse that Moria put on me."

Ace looked interested then and asked, "Oh yeah? What kind of abilities does she have then?"

"Well, she's got weather magic, raw, but pretty powerful, and a really weird ability she can't control that... I dunno... makes all the men go crazy around her. They basically want to do anything she asks, but she has no control over it."

Ace's eyes widened a bit and asked, "She can... what?"

"Yeah," Luffy said and nodded, "it's crazy to watch, but it isn't mind control. They still seem in control of themselves, but it's more like they all... fall in love with her..." He blinked. That was it... Why hadn't he figured it out sooner?

"Fall in love with her?" Ace asked, and his brow lifted up. "Really? That's interesting. How does it work exactly?"

"I have absolutely no idea," Luffy said and shook his head. "That's part of why she's here, to figure out how to control this ability."

"Doesn't sound like a bad thing though, if she can get them to do what she wants. And how is she not in control of it?" Ace asked and titled his head.

"Well," Luffy said and shrugged, "it's always working. It started happening a little while after I kidnapped her, too. She doesn't know how to turn it off. So men are always bothering her, when she doesn't want them to. It... get's complicated."

"I see, but I don't feel anything. Does that mean only the normal men are affected?" Ace asked, and he once again, quirked his brow.

"Yeah," Luffy said and nodded, "mages and magic users aren't affected in any way. And magic resistant and repellent gear can protect people from the influence as well."

"Uh huh," Ace said, smiling slightly, but only slightly. "So, what's your story then?"

"I don't know," Luffy said and frowned at Ace. "I... I feel like I want to protect her, but I'm not sure why, especially when she's angry most of the time. So... I guess her ability affects me just a little bit?"

Ace turned to look at the green haired man, who didn't seem to give a shit about anything, nor was he affected by the orange haired woman, and then he looked back at Luffy with a smirk. Then he reached up a hand and poked his head. "Nope... Her magic isn't affecting you, you idiot. You're just in love with her."

Had Luffy been drinking something, Ace would have been coated in a layer of spit and whatever Luffy had been drinking. "Wha... wha... WHAT!?" he shrieked, looking horrified.

Everyone blinked, all looking over at Luffy and Ace. "What the hell are they talking about?" Zoro muttered with a frown.

"Good question ..." Nami replied with a deep frown.

"Bet I have an idea," Nojiko said and smirked, but otherwise, she said nothing else.

"Eh?" they questioned, turning to her.

"Secret," Nojiko said and now grinned. Nami frowned even deeper, looking at her sister before turning back to the boys.

"See!? It's written all over your face!" Ace declared with a big grin.

"You... You're crazy..." Luffy stammered and shook his head, almost violently. "There's absolutely... No... I mean... You're crazy!"

"I'm not the crazy one. You're the crazy one~! You're crazy about _her_," Ace teased, poking Luffy's cheek.

"I am not!" Luffy said and swatted Ace's hand away. "You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Sure I don't. You're just too stupid to realize it. It's okay though. You will," Ace said with a wink before turning around. "Anyways, Gramps wants to see you. You're going to have to report everything that happened."

"Oh," Luffy said and started sweating. "Is that really... necessary?"

"Yup," Ace said, turning to smirk at him. "You might want to talk to him alone though."

"Yeah..." Luffy sighed. "When does he want to see me?"

"You know him, he wanted to see you five minutes ago," Ace said with a chuckle as he started walking away.

"Eeh!? You said he was busy!" Luffy said and took off for his Grandfather's office, down a long and huge hall, with equally huge windows lining down on one side.

"Yeah, I lied! I wanted to talk to you first!" Ace called after him with a grin and his hands cupped around his mouth, though he continued walking backwards.

Frowning very deeply now with a tad of worry, Nami quickly moved after Luffy and asked, "L-Luffy, where are you going?"

Ace watched the girl walk by him and smiled a bit. At least it wasn't one sided.

Luffy turned back to smile at Nami, though his face flushed when he saw her, remembering what Ace had said. "Don't worry, I just need to go talk to my grandpa. I'll be right back."

Ace smirked at Luffy from behind Nami a bit. Frowning softly, Nami then just clutched her hands together and said, "Oh..."

"You know, on second thought, she should at least go with you and wait just inside. He might want to meet her," Ace said and gave a lazy, half-sided smile. Frowning a little deeper, Nami looked behind her to Ace.

Luffy paused at the great doors to his Grandfather's office. He looked at Nami gulped with a nod and then knocked on the door.

"Come in, Luffy," his grandpa's voice said from inside.

When he opened the door, he had to duck as an inkwell flew overhead at great speed, smashing against the opposite wall. He stared up at Garp, who was standing behind his desk. "Wh...What the hell are you doing, Gramps?!" he yelled and stepped inside. Nami carefully peered inside, just in case nothing came flying, and then stepped inside fully, but moved to the side.

"You idiot," Garp yelled, walking around the desk and clocking Luffy on the top of the head. "What are you doing taking jobs in your condition?!"

Nami blinked at the large older man before turning to look at Ace and Dragon, who came in behind her, both smiling at her kindly. Then Dragon closed the door.

"Shut up, old man!" Luffy yelled. "I've been getting plenty of sleep! So I'm just fine!"

"Liar!" Garp yelled and hit him again. "That spell hasn't been broken, and you know it!"

Nami bit her lip then, just listening to the two and waiting to be introduced, though she was a bit worried... She also couldn't help being a little annoyed. So, he wasn't supposed to be taking on jobs? She narrowed her eyes at Luffy.

"Anyway," Garp said, walking back behind his desk and sitting down. "So, who's your friend?"

"Oh," Luffy straightened himself and motioned to Nami, "this is Nami..."

"The customer from your job?" Garp asked and frowned. "What is she doing here?"

Nami frowned deeply then, looking over at Luffy. Had he been wrong in kidnapping her? If he was...

Dragon was interested now. He had actually been wondering exactly what they had all been doing there.

Luffy took a deep breath and said, "Well... when I got to the job, I accidentally destroyed the village in taking down Arlong. Nami refused to pay, so I kidnapped her."

Garp nodded and said, "I see. Sounds reasonable."

"Reason-! Mmm!" Ace had come up behind Nami and covered her mouth with his hand.

"Shh, shh," he said, but said nothing more, letting Luffy and Garp continue their conversation.

"And did you get the pay?" Garp continued.

Luffy shook his head and said, "No, I did not."

"I see," Garp said, glancing to Nami for only a moment before looking back at Luffy. "What did you do then?"

"We made a deal, to take jobs together 'til I had enough to cover the job, and she had enough to rebuild the town I destroyed."

Garp nodded slowly and said, "I see." He stood up, turned around behind his chair and made his way to the window to look out of it.

"And... how much have you both collected so far?" Dragon spoke up this time, lifting a brow to Luffy.

"We've collected about two thousand gold pieces, but we have more coming in from our last job," Luffy told his father.

"Two thousand? That's it?" Dragon asked with a slight frown.

Nami frowned deeply and looked at Dragon.

"Yeah, but I told you, we got more coming in," Luffy said and looked away. Not going well...

"And part of the money is for the girl?" Garp asked, his eyes narrowing slightly as he gazed out of his window.

Luffy nodded nervously and said, "Y-Yeah..."

"Unacceptable. The money is confiscated," Garp declared and turned his narrowed eyes to his grandson, "and your deal with her is void."

"What!? You can't do that!" Nami cried, tearing away from Ace, who still held her, but Ace wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back to him.

"I just did," Garp said and walked back to his desk. "You will work off your debt to our guild, until I've been satisfied. You will learn, that breaking a contract with a guild such as ours is a serious offense."

Luffy was horrified. He hadn't expected this... He never should have brought her here... "You can't do that, Gramps!" Luffy yelled with a scowl. "The contract was with me, and we already reached an agreement!"

"Shut up, idiot boy!" Garp was suddenly in front of Luffy and hit him hard enough to smash his face into the ground. "I am the Guild Master! You will follow my orders! And this girl is not to leave until her debt has been paid!"

Nami felt tears in her eyes at her growing rage and frustration. "_You can't do that_! You have no right to do that!" she screamed, trying to get out of Ace's grasp.

"Too late," Garp said and grinned at her, almost maliciously, "I already did."

She screamed loudly in her rage and fury. She wrenched herself away from Ace and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. She wanted to hurt someone, break something... anything. She was furious, and she felt helpless.

Luffy ran out of the room, following after her. "Nami!" he called out to her.

"Huh?" Garp asked and blinked. "What's up with him?"

Ace sighed loudly as he closed his eyes and turned his head away. "Nothin'..."

"Tsk, tsk, father," Dragon said, quirking a brow to his father, but he said nothing more.

"Stay away from me!" Nami screamed over her shoulder, trying hard not to break into sobs. Hearing Nami's scream, the entire room turned to the hall, and Gen frowned deeply. What was going on?

"Nami!" Luffy called again and kept running after her. "Nami!" He ran forward, grabbing her arm, just before she exited the long hallway with all the windows. "Listen, I'm sorry! This isn't my fault!"

Gen frowned more deeply, watching as Luffy grabbed her arm, and jolted a bit to go to her, but decided against it. Nami then whirled around on him, her face exposing her pain and rage, and then she whipped her hand across his face. "It is all your fault!" she yelled, gasping loudly and heavily as her tears fell. "All of it! I want you to stay away from me! Do you hear me!? Just leave me alone!"

Luffy was frozen after the slap. That hurt more than it should have, and not physically. Turning back to her as she again began storming away from him, he rushed after her, a heavy feeling in his chest. "Nami!"

She turned quickly and shoved him harshly away from her. "I said stay away from me! I don't ever want to _look_ at you!" she screamed, her voice sounding extremely pained. "You stole it from me, Luffy!" she continued, "You gave it to me," her voice sounded weak as her expression changed to a look of pain and sadness, "and then you took it away again!" she yelled as she pushed him a second time. "You took away my freedom, Luffy! Don't you dare come near me again!"

It finally made sense; the feelings he'd had from several days ago. He'd... He was no better, than the sorcerer he'd saved her village from. He'd fought so hard to free her, and then all he ended up doing was enslaving her again. Worse, he wasn't in charge of her freedom anymore.

But he was too far enraged, feeling the unfairness of it. Feelings were surfacing, that should have remained buried, and so, he grabbed her arm again as she turned away from him. "You're the one that refused to pay!" he yelled. "All you had to do was give me the money, and I would have been out of your hair for good! But you thought that, just because you think the world works one way, people would just cater to your world view! Well guess where that got you!? You're now the slave of a man who fights, and slaughters, dragons _with his bare fists!_ You think your talk of fairness is going to do you any good here?"

She screamed again, but this time, it was a scream of rage, anguish and despair. She then whipped her hand across his face even harder than the last one and screamed at the top of her lungs, "_I hate you_!" As sobs tore through her, she shoved him away one last time and made a break for the exit.

Gen's face softened. So... she wasn't free after all. "Na-chan," he called to her as she passed, but she didn't stop. She kept going, throwing the doors open and disappearing outside.

Nojiko started off after her sister, but turned around to look at the young mage. He looked so... forlorn, standing there like he didn't know what to do or think. His hand slowly lifted to the cheek she'd slapped, and his head was still turned to the side from it.

Ace stood out in the hallway, just staring at Luffy. He had heard every word. He could understand how Luffy would be upset, but he should never have said those words to her. He could hear the girl's heart breaking in her scream, and those three words she'd spoken had sounded like the truth. In that moment, she had truly hated him. He gave a shudder, and his head lowered.

Luffy clenched his eyes shut, and suddenly, his aura exploded more violently than ever before, shattering all the windows in the hall. Breathing heavily, he then took off for the bar, feeling the need to get wasted.

Ace jumped and quickly look towards the windows, his eyes wide. He had not expected such a violent release in energy. The shattered glass even turned to dust and drifted down like glitter. Gen had also jumped to all the windows shattering before frowning softly after the boy. Dragon frowned deeply, slowly turning to look outside, the people curiously looking in and wondering what the crazy mages were up to now.

Nami kept running, to no one knew where, as she sobbed loudly. She bumped into a few people, some of them men, whose eyes seemed to glaze over in a daze. Even if they were wearing magic protective armor, in Nami's state, they were all affected. They all began to gather around her, asking if she was okay, but then she screamed, "_Get away from me_!"

A wave of energy exploded from her, making all of them gasp and grab at the pain they felt in their hearts; a despair so great and agonizing that a few began to tear up for no reason at all. Dark clouds quickly rolled in, and a torrent of rain began to immediately fall over them, but they didn't seem to notice or the orange haired girl, who disappeared within the dark rain.

Ace blinked a bit, when it suddenly began to rain heavily, and then looked down as his frown softened to the water slowly seeping inside through the broken windows. Seeing the rain, Nojiko quickly ran after Nami, to try and find her, before she hurt as well. She needed to know what exactly had happened.

Nami finally ran down an alley, where it was remote and plopped down onto a crate, beginning to sob harder. It hurt so much... Her hand reached up to clutch at her heart, not even noticing that she was completely drenched from the rain.

Nojiko ran past an alley, but doubled back. She'd found her sister. "Nami?" she tentatively called, stepping into the alley.

"Nojiko," Nami wailed softly, but she kept her head lowered as she hugged herself, the sobs still tearing through her.

Nojiko dropped to her knees next to her sister and wrapped her arms around her. "I'm here..."

This, however, only made her sob harder and louder, her whole body shaking. "I should have just given it to him!" she wailed, but then she said more softly, "I should have just given it to him! If I had just... done that... we wouldn't have had our homes, but we would have had our freedom! We would have been happy! We could have... collected the money together! I was... I was being so selfish! We had our freedom!" she wailed painfully as she sobbed even harder. For a decade, they had been under control of that sorcerer. For a decade, none of them had been free, and now, she still wasn't.

"It's all right," Nojiko whispered and rubbed her sister's back. "You couldn't have known what was going to happen. It's not your fault. We're going to get through this."

"He... He confiscated my share, Nojiko.. And... And said I had to keep working for the guild until he was satisfied! I... I can't go home," Nami said, still crying into her sister's chest.

"Don't worry, Nami," Nojiko said, but she had tears running down her cheeks. "I promise, you won't be alone."

Wrapping her arms around her sister finally, Nami held her tightly and just let herself cry, until she didn't think she had any more tears left to cry, but even so, the pain had never dissipated.

Nojiko held her tightly, trying to soak all her pain into herself. "I won't leave you. I won't ever leave you, Nami."

"No-jik-o," Nami whispered in a soft wail, hiccupping violently from her cry. The rain had still yet to cease, soaking them all the way through to the bone. Nami's eyes stared off blankly, and she felt as if she could possibly sleep forever.

**To Be Continued...**

**Authors' Notes:**

Con: Ouch... ~.~ So... that's what we did... Harsh... ~.~

Darth: I'm not talking to you anymore.

Con: Whaaaa?! D: But, but, but... D: Eh, that's okay. My true evil plan is realized! X) Muwahahaha! X)

Darth: Wait, what?

Con: What? o.o I love causing pain and heartache for the characters. It's fun. o.o

Darth: Ah yes, the true motivation for any writer.

Con: Indeed it is. X) I most certainly had fun coming up with this epic idea. X) Who doesn't love a little drama and heartache?

Darth: Quite.

Con: Well, at any rate, we hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! :-D

Darth: Hopefully the next one won't take too long to get published.

Con: I'll get right on it, maaaan! D: Until next time! XD


	17. Chapter 17: He Feels Pain and Anger

**Authors' Notes:**

Con: Hmm, so I wonder how they're going to fix this... or if they even will? X(

Darth: Whazzat?

Con: You know, the pain and heartache. o.o

Darth: Ah, yes, those human emotions. Bah.

Con: Puh, don't, those human emotions, me! D: It's the feels, man! THE FEELS! D:

Darth: Bah, I hate feels.

Con: Lies. o.o Anyways, we hope you guys enjoy this chapter! xD

**Charmed**

**Chapter 17: He Feels Pain and Anger**

Ace slowly made his way after Luffy, not really sure his younger brother wanted to look at or talk to anyone at the moment, but he had to at least try. "Luffy..."

"What?" he muttered, not bothering to turn around.

Sighing then, Ace took a seat in the stool next to him. In all honesty, what was he supposed to say? He was sure his brother hadn't actually expected to fall in love with the girl, or vice versa, though it seemed his brother had no idea the girl felt the same about him... Well... did... He hummed with a sigh, the bartender passing him a drink without him asking for it. He did love the bar there. "M-Maybe... she'll calm down... and..." What the hell was he saying? "Look, I'm sorry," he finally said with another sigh as he looked down, "but... you know Gramps."

"Yeah," Luffy said and stared into his drink, "which is why I never should have brought her here."

"Either way, Gramps would have gotten the truth out of you, Luffy. You're the worst liar alive," Ace said softly, frowning into the wood of the bar.

"Could have lied for her," he muttered, taking another sip from his very potent drink.

"Lied for her? How? Gramps would have still made the same decision. He has ways of finding out shit-you know that. There was no escaping this," Ace said before taking a deep gulp from his drink. Then he closed his eyes with a sigh and whispered, "It was inevitable... the moment she refused to pay." He slowly opened his eyes again and took another drink.

"Could have just left her..." Luffy muttered as he emptied his drink and asked for another one from the bartender.

"And come back empty handed?" Ace asked, downing the rest of his as the bartender placed another one in front of him and another for Luffy.

"Could have taken other jobs..."

"Well... there's no sense in thinking about what you _could_ have done, and I doubt you thought about that, because you weren't in love with her yet," Ace muttered, feeling pretty shitty for his little brother. Quite frankly, he was still confused how he managed to get the girl to fall in love with _him_.

Luffy didn't say anything. Love... huh? Couldn't be... It hurt too much. Love was supposed to be a good thing, not something painful like this.

"In any case, you should try talking to her again... after she's calmed down," Ace replied softly before downing his second glass. "You might also want to talk to the rest of those people... explain what happened."

"Don't wanna," Luffy muttered and accepted a third drink. How the hell was he supposed to explain this?

"Doesn't matter if you don't 'wanna', Luffy. It's, you 'gotta'. This is, after all, your responsibility," Ace replied as he slid out of his stool and gently placed a hand on Luffy's shoulder before walking away.

Luffy stayed at the bar. He knew what he had to do... but... not now...

x x x x

Nami felt so completely empty as she stared out at the people walking up and down the street from what she could see from within the alley. The hiccups had finally ceased, but now she just lay on Nojiko's shoulder, feeling so incredibly empty.

Merry turned the corner into the alley and trotted up to Nami. He snorted and leaned down, nuzzling her hair.

Gasping and blinking in surprise, Nami quickly looked up at Merry. "M-Merry? Wha...?" she questioned, but then she smiled, tears coming into her eyes again as she hugged the horse. "Oh, Merry... Were you worried about me?" she whispered, stroking his jaw tenderly as she hugged his head.

Had he arms, Merry would have returned the hug. Instead, he settled for rubbing his head against hers with a snort in reply. Nami couldn't help it as her smile grew, and soon she was giggling. She couldn't help but to be greatly comforted by the horse.

Nojiko patted the horse's head and said, "Well, at least it's not all bad. You still got Merry."

Sniffling, Nami leaned back to pet over Merry's face a nose. "You really are a good boy, aren't you?" she whispered softly, still laughing and crying at the same time.

Merry nodded and snorted again.

Nojiko laughed and said, "It's almost like he understands what you say."

Nami was smiling widely, but then lost it slowly. "Luffy," she swallowed hard, looking down again before continuing, "said that, Merry can understand most words. He's... not an ordinary horse," she explained, looking up at Merry. "Merry is a magic horse."

"Really?" Nojiko asked as she scratched Merry's ears, and looked him in the eye. "What kind of magic?"

"Don't know," Nami answered honestly, "but I do know that he's abnormally fast, and that," she smiled again with a pause, "he can appear behind you even though he was right in front of you only a second before that," she giggled softly, "You remember that, Merry? I'm sorry for..." She lost her smile again, but her eyes shifted down quickly before up again, "trying to pit you against your master," she whispered this last part, petting Merry tenderly.

Merry licked her cheek, as if to say, "It's all right."

Nojiko looked at her sister sadly. She could tell that her memories of the mage were giving her pain. She, herself, was feeling conflicted.

Nami smiled again at the lick and said with a soft chuckle, "I need to find you an apple." She then leaned in to kiss his nose and whispered, "Will you come with me?"

Merry nodded.

"All right, let's go then," Nami said, still smiling as she stood before turning to her sister. "Shall we then?" she asked, holding out a hand to her.

"Of course," Nojiko said, taking Nami's hand and walking out with her. She would wait to ask what exactly had happened.

Nami pressed her palm gently onto Merry's neck as they walked out, and looking around, she tried to find some kind of produce stand. "Let's go this way!" she said, trying to keep her smile bright. She wouldn't waste the good feeling Merry had given her.

Merry nudged Nami's back, guiding her to a produce stand that he knew of.

"Ooh, so you know where to go then, Merry?" Nami asked, beginning to laugh as she let the horse guide her.

Merry nodded, and led them down the streets, finally coming to a produce stand, that he pointed at with his nose.

"Ooh, I bet you know this whole place very well, don't you, Merry?" Nami asked, beaming to the horse before asking the woman behind the counter for five apples and then paid her the copper pieces for them.

Merry nodded emphatically and licked his lips at the apples.

"You must know all the best places for fruits and vegetables don't you, boy?" Nojiko asked and ruffled his mane. Merry again just nodded.

Nami handed Nojiko one of the apples and then held one out for Marry, placing the other two in a pocket in her dress before eating her own apple, the other two saved away just for Merry as she began walking with them again.

Merry ate the apple out of Nami's hand, smiling with his eyes as he ate.

Nojiko munched on her own apple as they walked and looked about them at all the shops and people. "So," she said, loathing bringing up a touchy subject, "now what are we going to do?"

Wrapping her arm under Merry's throat and bringing it up the other side as she leaned her head against his, Nami then shrugged and said, "I don't know. I guess... I just work until... Luffy's grandfather is satisfied." After she finished her apple, she held up another one for Merry.

Merry took the apple from her hand, chewing thoughtfully.

"I see," Nojiko said, looking and sounding thoughtful. "Is that what happened? Luffy's grandfather didn't accept your deal?"

"That's right," Nami replied softly, looking down to the ground.

"I'm sorry, honey," Nojiko said and gripped Nami's hand. "You must feel terrible, especially after how you and Luffy were starting to get along better."

Nami stiffened, her hand clenching Nojiko's tightly for a split second and even her face seemed to pale slightly. "I don't know what you're talking about," she replied very quickly.

"Don't do that," Nojiko insisted. "I know how you feel about him... How you were beginning to feel about him."

"I don't want to talk about it!" Nami said, a bit more forcefully than she had meant to, a crack of lightning flashing across the sky, which caused a few people to look above in confusion.

"You know you trusted him," Nojiko continued. "Especially after what happened... You trusted him enough to feel safe around him, when men were getting too close to you."

Nami stopped then, her head still lowered and her eyes out of sight behind her bangs. "I said... I don't... want to talk about it," she said, her voice quiet, though the thunder wasn't.

"Nami," Nojiko gripped her by her shoulders, "don't do that. I'm your sister. Your _older_ sister. You trusted him, and then he betrayed that trust. But you didn't see him after you'd left. I saw it; in his expression. He didn't want any of what happened back at the guild."

Nami slowly drifted towards Merry, pressing her face into his shoulder. Still, her eyes could not be seen behind her bangs. "Nojiko... please," she whispered now, pleading with her sister.

Nojiko sighed deeply, and finally, she nodded. "When you're ready... Don't worry, everything will work out just fine."

x x x x

Luffy was drunk. Not enough to pass out, but enough to dull his emotions, when he went looking for the rest of the group. When he found them, he took a deep breath and walked towards them. Luffy noted that, Robin wasn't there, having gone to the library earlier in the day to start her research. It wasn't like she needed to hear it anyway, seeing as she'd suspected something similar would happen. Gen frowned deeply when he saw the boy approaching, and Zoro couldn't help the one he held either. Sanji, however, just glared at Luffy.

Luffy began to speak, though his voice was emotionless. "Nami will be staying here."

Gen's eyes turned to slits as he glared at Luffy and stood up. "What do you mean, boy?" he asked in a voice verging on rage.

"She'll be staying here, at the guild, 'til she works off the debt owed by your village to the guild. That was the Guild Master's decision," Luffy replied, and did not meet any of their gazes.

Sanji's eyes narrowed, white hot rage filling him, but he said nothing, allowing Gen to do the talking... for now.

"Guild Master's decision!?" Gen bellowed, his face turning red with rage. "Did you bother to mention you destroyed our village, or that she worked up money to pay your sorry ass!?"

Zoro closed his eyes and looked away. He could tell the mage didn't like the decision at all, but it wasn't up to him. He knew how guilds worked, which was one of the reasons he'd not actually joined one. Sure, you could make loads more money, depending on the respectability of a guild, and this one was pretty much at the top, but it could be quite harsh if you don't honor the contract.

"Yes," Luffy said, "I mentioned all of it." It wasn't like there was anything he could do.

Sanji rushed forward, and grabbed Luffy by the front of his robe. "Where the hell is this guild master? I'll force him to set Nami free!"

"You couldn't beat me at my weakest," Luffy said and glared, almost hatefully to the blonde man. "You don't stand a chance against him."

"Why you...!"

"He's right, curly brow," Zoro said, still with his eyes closed. "I've heard about the Guild Master here. He's no one to mess around with. If you think you could defeat a dragon with your bare hands, then... by all means, confront him. But, you knew all that already, didn't you?"

Luffy knocked Sanji's hand aside and said, "Just thought you might want to know." He then turned and walked off to his room.

Zoro sighed a bit and folded his arms behind his head. "You know, that's where they say Dragon got his name from too," He added, just for the blonde man's sake, "or didn't you know _that_?"

Gen seemed to just wilt. So, there was nothing they could do about it at all. Nami was stuck there ...

Sanji spit on the floor, storming off. "Che," he muttered under his breath.

x x x x

They spent all evening wandering about, and it was getting rather late. After awhile, they finally decided to go back to the guild. Nami dreaded returning, and even more so, she dreaded that night. The last thing she wanted to do was sleep or even be in the same room as him. As they walked in, she looked over towards the hall, where she had told him she had hated him, the moonlight shining in through all the windows, which she had no idea had been broken only a few hours before, because each one had been repaired with magic. She then went in search of the others, not looking forward to explaining anything. She found them in the lounge, doing just that and sighed. Though, Sanji was headed in her direction already.

Seeing her, Sanji paused with a frown and called, "Ah, Nami-san..."

Keeping her head lowered and her expression a soft frown, she then walked a little further in as Gen sat upright to look at her. "Na-chan ..." he called to her, his face falling more to her expression.

"I thought... you all... at least, deserved an explanation about-about earlier... so..." she started softly.

"We... We know," Sanji said softly.

Nami's head shot up with a look of surprise, and she asked, "What?"

Gen sighed deeply as he lowered his head and closed his eyes. "The brat told us just now," he said softly, opening his eyes to stare at his lap.

Nami could only gape for awhile before her expression turned back into a soft frown, though her eyes were sad. Luffy had just been there? She just barely missed seeing him? She felt her heart pang painfully, but refused to acknowledge it, and then she whispered, "Oh... I see.."

"Nami-san," Sanji called and placed a hand on her shoulder, "we'll find a way to get you out of this, I promise."

She sighed then and shook her head. "No, you won't," she admitted truthfully. "It's... all right. Don't worry about me. I'm sorry that I lied to you from the beginning, and thank you for helping Nojiko and Gen-san to find me, but you don't have to stay here, Sanji-kun," she said, still keeping her head lowered. "You can return to wherever it was... where you were."

"I don't have anywhere to go to," Sanji said and smiled to her. "I will stand by your side through this. You have my word."

Luffy had doubled back, when he heard Nami's voice. Seeing Sanji with her like that, filled him with an unreasonable rage. He scowled and glared at the other man. White flashing before his eyes, he turned around and stormed off.

"Oh," Nami replied and then attempted to smile. "Thank you," she said before sighing again. "I'm tired so... I was wondering if you guys moved our things yet."

"Yes, we did. They gave us each a room to ourselves... even you, Na-chan. I can show you," Gen said, smiling at her softly.

"Yes, thank you," Nami said, following Gen.

Sanji sighed and followed them, along with Nojiko as well as Zoro. "Shitty bastard, forcing Nami-san to be a slave," Sanji muttered with a glare, and then he popped a cigarette into his mouth to light.

"I don't think he wanted this to happen," Nojiko said, remembering the mage's face and feeling as if she should defend him.

Sanji didn't reply.

Nami didn't hear what they were saying, her own thoughts swimming around in her head. So, she would be sleeping on her own tonight, which meant Luffy wouldn't be sleeping at all. Did he know that? Had he been the one to suggest giving her, her own room? Did he know she would definitely not want to sleep with him? However, she vaguely worried about his not getting any sleep. She then shook her head, going into her room and closing the door behind her, without even saying good night.

x x x x

The next morning, Luffy knocked loudly on Nami's door. Without waiting for an answer, he opened the door and walked inside.

"Wha...?" Nami questioned, sitting up slightly with a frown before catching sight of him and paling a bit, though she frowned deeper. "What do you think you're doing?"

"We've got a job," he said roughly, standing with his arms crossed at the end of her bed.

She swallowed hard, having to force herself not to cry as she looked into his hard face and suddenly wishing it would go back to the soft smile. "Fine... Now get out so I can change," she said, shifting her red and watering eyes away from him so he wouldn't see.

"Fine," he said, leaving the room. "Hurry up!" he called harshly, just before slamming the door shut. Once outside, he clamped his eyes shut, forcing the tears in. Her expression had broken his heart, but that time had passed. She hated him now, and it was probably better that way.

She jumped at the door being slammed behind him, yelping softly as a hand clamped over her mouth and more tears quickly gathered, but then she wiped them away quickly to change. When she was done, she had numbed herself. Her expression held no emotion, whatsoever. She was just empty. She realized that it was going to be like this for all the time, that she would work to pay off her debt. She opened the door and stepped out, not bothering to lift her head.

Ace watched them both from a distance down the hall, and his eyes drifted down a bit into a softer frown. The light, that had been in her eyes, when he'd first met her was gone, and his brother looked like one of those dragons he'd thought he'd face one day. Perhaps he should talk to his grandfather about this. It was different this time. She wasn't just some client anymore. But even so, he didn't think Luffy would like that much. He had to just wait for Luffy to find the way and courage to do it himself.

"Let's go," Luffy said and didn't look at her, as he led her out of the guild. After walking for awhile, they came to a building quite a ways out of the city proper, in one of the outlying villages, which had been ransacked.

Nami frowned as she slowly approached the house and looked around it, but when she stepped inside, her face paled, and she had to stifle a scream. She turned and quickly ran out. Once outside, she breathed heavily, feeling as bile rose up in her throat. "Mm!" she exclaimed and quickly covered her mouth.

Luffy went inside and looked disinterestedly at the body. "Any clues as to who's responsible for this?" Luffy asked and turned to one of the city guard.

"Only this," the man said as he nodded to the body. "When we found the body, it was covered in darkness... thick darkness, like it was tar."

"I see," Luffy said with a nod and left the house.

Nami refused to go back inside, her face still devoid of color and sick to her stomach. The man's eyes had still been opened, and they were opened wide, as if he'd been terrified when he had died. A hand went up to her mouth again as tears came to her eyes. She had only seen death once before, and she did not want to be reminded of it.

Luffy walked over to Nami and said, "I think I might have an idea who did this. We have to find the murderer. Five thousand gold."

"Fine, let's just get this over with," she muttered, dropping her hand and walking back over to Merry to lean on. She still felt so nauseous.

"Right," Luffy muttered, "I think I might know where his hideout is." After both mounted Merry again, he then took her back towards the city, heading towards a seedier part of town.

"I don't like it here," Nami whispered with a frown as she looked around them.

"Too bad," Luffy muttered in a voice lacking emotion. They came to a decrepit looking old dive, and Luffy climbed off the horse, not bothering to offer Nami his help in getting down.

Nami turned to look at Luffy's back, her face falling slightly as she tried not to cry again. "Whatever... Let's just hurry," she whispered to herself, climbing off from Merry by herself.

Luffy kicked the door in and stepped into the building. It was dark and smoke filled on the inside. Something about this darkness, though, wasn't natural. "I know you're in here, Teach!" Luffy yelled into the darkness.

"T-Teach ...?" Nami whispered, looking inside and not liking how it made her feel at all.

"Well, well, well... If it isn't the old man's grandson. So nice of you to drop by, Luffy," a voice called from inside before a nasty laugh could be heard from within, "Zehahahaha!"

"Get out here so I can kick your ass Teach! We know what you did," Luffy said, his eyes on alert as they shifted all around.

A big, fat man with a few missing teeth came lumbering out from the darkness with a grin on his face, though there was nothing pleasant about it. "Kick _my_ ass, you say?"

"Kick your ass, get a big fat pay check, and be back in time for breakfast," Luffy said and smirked, feeling agitated and cocky. He cracked his knuckles and pulled his arm back.

"Zehahahahaha!" the man burst into laughter, his stomach bouncing as he did, which made Nami cringe away, instinctively moving behind Luffy. "And who have we here?" he asked, smirking right at Nami, who had already moved behind Luffy.

"No one important," Luffy said and stepped away from Nami towards Teach. "Just someone working off a debt to the guild."

Nami stiffened completely as her breath was sucked in sharply, and her entire body felt like it was slowly turning to ice. It took a lot of extra effort for her not to cry this time, though she felt her body turning hot as her anger started to grow instead. Fine, if that's the way he wanted it, then she would be more than happy to oblige. "All right, if I'm so unimportant, I'm going to wait outside," she said coldly before stepping outside quickly.

"Zehahahaha! Is that any way to talk to a girl, boy? If you think so, you're going to quickly find yourself all alone!" the big man laughed, setting the girl aside for the time being.

"I don't need advice from you, fat ass!" Luffy yelled, but then glanced back at Nami."And you're not going anywhere, if you want your debt to be worked off. Not like you're doing any of the work anyway."

Nami turned to him, the door still open and glared at him coldly, her eyes swimming with anger and now hatred. "Then what do you care if I stay or not, asshole!?"

"Ooh, I see... A client, who didn't pay their debt, is it? Your grandfather can be pretty merciless, can't he!?" Teach exclaimed before breaking out into more laughter.

"At least he hasn't killed anyone... yet," Luffy said and took a fighting stance. "And you don't go anywhere!" he yelled at Nami. "If you don't at least try to help, then I'll just claim this mission for myself!"

She clamped her mouth shut tightly, ready to murder someone herself. "Yeah!? I bet you would do that, you ass! I don't gather your friend here would want to step outside for a bit then!?" she yelled, and just as she did, thunder began to rumble over head.

Teach's lips curved up into a smirk, and then he said, "It's all right, darling. The youngest grandson was never the brightest. Strong, yes. Bright, no."

Luffy's eye twitched, which was becoming a chronic condition. "_Shut_ the _fuck_ up, and get out of there, before I blow your whole fucking den away!"

Nami's eyes widened as she blinked at Luffy's back, her jaw dropping slightly. Teach just laughed, finding it all very amusing as he walked out a bit more. "Blow my whole fucking den away, you say? All right then, make me, genius," he said, smirking very nastily then.

Luffy took a deep breath. He was exhausted from not getting any sleep last night. He was also in a horrible mood, though he had recovered enough energy over the past few days. Biting into the thumb of his left hand, he blew, inflating his right fist to gigantic proportions. "Gear! Third!" he yelled, and then he punched the whole broken down bar.

This only seemed to make Teach laugh harder instead of getting mad, and a darkness began to emerge from the man. Nami gasped and backed away to Luffy's attack as well as the darkness. Maybe this was a bit more out of her league. However, she would try her best anyways.

Most of the building was destroyed, but Luffy's fist was stopped short by Teach, who remained immobile. The man continued to laugh as the darkness grew around him, and then it suddenly surged forwards towards Luffy. Luffy jumped, ducking out of the way, and used his giant fist to punch at Teach again. The darkness completely absorbed the force of Luffy's punch before it surged forward again and hit Luffy, sending him flying over Nami's head. "Kyaa!" she screamed, ducking down and holding her head with her arms.

"Damn it!" Luffy yelled as he jumped up and fired a beam of energy from his hands.

The beam merely got sucked into the darkness as it came back towards Luffy, grabbing one of his legs. "Luffy!" Nami cried as she gaped, seeing how helpless Luffy looked.

Luffy yelped and kicked at the darkness, but it wouldn't let his leg go. "Let me go!" he yelled at Teach, firing another energy beam.

"Oow!" Teach yelled as the energy beam hit him. "Aah! I forgot... I could have blocked that..."

Nami gaped up at the bigger man, backing away quickly. He was even stupider than Luffy... Frowning deeply, she then quickly stood up and muttered an incantation. "Lightning Tempo!" she cried, cutting the air with two fingers, and a crack of lightning struck down over Teach, who screamed in pain as he was electrocuted.

Luffy took the advantage to hit Teach with a spear fist, sharpened to kill. No good. His strength was waning. He really needed that sleep last night. Teach deflected him easily before coming at him with more darkness, after scowling at Nami. Nami could see, that Luffy's getting no sleep was already causing him to lose power. Bringing up her fingers, she muttered again and yelled, "Lightning Tempo!"

However, it didn't work this time as the darkness absorbed the strike, and Teach then turned his attention to Nami, after grabbing a hold of Luffy's other leg. Gasping and fear causing her eyes to grow, Nami quickly began to back away, but stumbled onto the debris. "Stay away from me!"

"You're starting to get on my nerves, little mage," Teach growled with a scowl.

"Ma-Ma-Mage?" she whispered as she blinked. She had never been called that before, and she had not really thought about it, but that's what she was now, wasn't it?

Luffy punched at Teach's head and yelled, "Damn it! You're not fighting her. I'm your opponent. Fight me!" He was breathing heavily, his strength drained from his initial Gear Third.

The punch hit him, causing Teach to double over and grab his head. "Ow, damn it!" he muttered before turning to scowl at Luffy, his head jarred a bit.

Luffy flipped Teach off and said, "Don't bother with her. You've still got me to finish off, you asshole!"

'_Oye, oye, don't say it like that!_' Nami seethed in her mind with a deep frown. Though, her cheeks flushed a bit to his still trying to protect her.

"You're already finished. Don't you see?" Teach sneered at him with a nasty smirk.

"Hardly," Luffy said and smirked. Turning his arms into shredding, rotating blades, he punched at Teach again.

Teach's face turned worried for a bit before darkness came up to absorb the attack, and he huffed in relief. "You little brat!" The darkness lifted Luffy up and smashed him into a building.

"Luffy!" Nami cried, running forward a bit, but Teach turned his attention on her.

"And now you..." he said, leering nastily at her.

Gasping and paling, Nami quickly tried to scamper away and cried, "Don't you come near me!"

The rubble trembled, and Luffy stood up, his aura ignited. "I...SAID...LEAVE...HER...ALONE!" He blasted Teach with what was left of his energy, and collapsed, after firing off the beam.

Caught off guard, Teach cried out loudly in pain and fell to his knees. "D-Damn it," he stuttered, breathing heavily from the pain as he tried to stand. "This ain't over yet, you little shit," he growled before disappearing into the darkness and vanishing from sight all together.

"Luffy!" Nami cried, running over towards Luffy with a pale face. "You all right?"

He blinked, his vision getting fuzzy. "Whadda... you... care...?" he muttered as he shoved her away weakly, and then he passed out.

Her lips clamped shut as tears came to her eyes. "I don't!" she cried, though she knew he couldn't hear her. Wiping at her eyes, she then whistled and called Merry over. Merry ran over to Nami, and looked down at her and his master. "Can you kneel down for me, Merry? He's too heavy for me to lift," Nami said with a soft frown to the horse. Merry, with some difficulty, kneeled down next to his master. "Thank you," Nami said, kissing Merry's head before dragging Luffy over Merry's back, and then she went to the front to help Merry stand. "Let's go home ..."

Merry stood up, careful not to drop his master, and followed Nami home.

**To Be Continued...**

**Authors' Note:**

Con: D'aww, that makes me so sad, that he's trying to push her away... ;_;

Darth: I suppose so?

Con: You and the feels, man! -_- So cold...

Darth: It is winter. My heart is as frozen as the northern wall.

Con: Is it undead too, like the creatures, who dwell on the other side of it? -_- Puh!

Darth: Can't wait for season three. :D

Con: Me neither! D: It's been too damn long-Ah... we're going off course... ~,~

Darth: So we are. Sorry, just been scheduling my week.

Con: I see-I see. *NodsNods* Well, that's good-Ah! Going off course again... ~.~ Anyways, we hope you guys enjoyed this chapter... but you probably didn't. X(

Darth: Probably not.

Con: Mm, mm... *NodsNods* Probably not... Until next time! :D

Darth: See you.


	18. Chapter 18: She Exorcises

**Authors' Note:**

Con: Huh, reversed title... How is Nami supposed to exorcise anything? o.o

Darth: Darned if I know.

Con: Hahaha! You don't remember, do you? Shame on you!

Darth: It's been a while.

Con: Indeed it has, but memories started coming back to me, the more I read over them again. xD

Darth: I'll need to reread this chapter. I remember the general idea, but not the details.

Con: You should reread it all. I think I will. xD

Darth: I probably will. I remember enjoying writing this.

Con: I definitely enjoyed finishing it up. :) I had a lot of fun with it. Yes, you heard me, guys! It's actually already completed, but you have to wait for me to post them each day, or every other day! It all depends on how many reviews I get, so you better start reviewing! X)

Darth: Again, if any of you are actually out there.

Con: Some are, but others are just too lazy to review! D:

Darth: Shame on you all then.

Con: Yes! Shame on you! D: Anyways, we'll let you shameless ones get to reading. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! xD

P.S. from Con: Speaking of shameless ones... I didn't get a lot of reviews for the last one, but that's also because I barely posted it today. I'm feeling a bit down, as well as bored. So, I thought I would post another chapter to cheer myself up. Feel lucky... because you are...

**Charmed**

**Chapter 18: She Exorcises**

Luffy groaned and opened his eyes slowly. Every part of his body hurt, and he felt completely drained. His unconsciousness hadn't gotten him any rest, and in fact, he felt worse. "Well, good morning, cupcake ..." Ace teased with a smirk from where he sat beside Luffy's bed.

"What happened?" Luffy groaned, attempting to sit up.

"You got your ass handed to you is what. The little orange haired girl brought you back," Ace said, but then muttered under his breath, "It's a wonder she didn't leave your ass there."

"Oww..." Luffy said and leaned back a bit. He gasped, having difficulty breathing. He needed rest. He didn't have the strength to resist the curse anymore.

"So, you mentioned before that she can put a stop to the no sleeping curse, but how, exactly? You didn't get a wink of sleep last night, so how was she countering it?" Ace asked, looking down into his lap as he tapped his knee with a finger.

"She didn't stay with me last night..." Luffy muttered and sighed.

Ace's brow quirked up high and he asked, "I'm sorry... what?"

"She... I... have to sleep with her to be able to sleep," Luffy explained as he closed an eye.

Ace's jaw dropped, and then he exclaimed, "Eeeeh!? You have to _what_!?"

"Sleep with her," he said and shifted, but groaned to the pain it caused him. "You know, same bed and all that?"

Beginning to calm down, though he was still staring at Luffy, Ace then frowned deeply and said, "Oh... you mean... just sleep with her... not... not actually... um..." He moved his hand about, waiting for Luffy to make the connection himself.

"Of course..." Luffy said, looking clueless, and then he frowned at his older brother. "What were you thinking about?"

Ace chuckled nervously. "N-N-Nothing!" he said, waving his hands at him. "S-So... how does she manage that, and how the hell'd you get her to agree to sleep with you?"

"Well... I just fell asleep on top of her a few times, because her breasts touched me. I realized that they must be what puts me to sleep, and... I'm not sure how I convinced her to sleep with me..."

"Because you touched her breasts!?" Ace exclaimed, gaping at his brother again. "Whoa, whoa! Okay, start from the beginning."

Luffy explained everything from the beginning, from the first time he'd fallen asleep on her, until recently. When he finished, he looked at Ace and asked, "So... does that make any sense to you?"

Ace was just staring at Luffy with his eyebrow raised, and finally after a while, he said, "Wow... I've seen and heard about a lot of shit... but never one about a girl with magical boobs."

"Yeah..." Luffy murmured, wistfully. He could still remember how they'd looked in her different tops, and how they reacted to the different ways she moved. He shook his head. Bad train of thought, bad train of thought.

"Wow..." Ace said again, nodding and looking thoughtful.

"Yeah..." Luffy also replied again and groaned. "But... I don't think I'll be getting any sleep any time soon."

"You think?" Ace said, frowning at him softly.

"Of course," Luffy said, not noticing the sarcasm. He coughed a bit, and then he said, "Don't know how much longer I can stand this curse."

"Well, you need to figure out how to get rid of it. All the other counter spells didn't work. Though... how is it that this girl can counter it?" Ace asked, frowning deeper.

"Don't know..." Luffy said and sighed deeply. "She has some other abilities, that I mentioned, and none of them make any sense."

"No, they really don't," Ace said and sighed as well, still frowning softly. "You might want to ask Gramps about it... if you can bring yourself to talk to him."

Luffy stiffened as he quickly looked away and said stubbornly, "I'm not talking to him..."

"Right..." Ace said and closed his eyes. "I guess I could do that for you then."

"Thanks, Ace," Luffy said and smiled at his brother, beginning to relax again. He started to get out of bed and said, "I should... get something to eat."

"Ah, no need," Ace said, pushing him back down and grabbing a tray off the table. "Here, eat this and try to rest a bit."

Luffy laid back and grabbed the tray. "Thanks. Don't see why I should bother trying to rest. It's not like it's going to do me any good..."

Ace sighed deeply as he watched his brother eat and said, "No, I guess not..."

x x x x

After Luffy'd been taken away, Nami had just stayed with Merry in the stables. "He wasn't very nice today," she muttered to the horse as she brushed him, "but... I guess it's not his fault. I did tell him I hated him, and I hit him really hard."

Merry snorted, nuzzling Nami's head.

"I guess... this is how it's going to be now, huh?" she whispered with a soft sigh, burying her face into his sparse fur and neck.

"Ah, excuse me..."

Gasping in surprise to the voice, Nami quickly stood straight and looked over to see Ace standing in the doorway of the stables. "Oh... Y-You surprised me," she said and moved closer to Merry instinctively.

"Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to. I had asked where you were, but everyone said you hadn't come inside yet. I figured, you might still be here," Ace said, petting over Merry's back. "Hey, Merry. Long time no see."

Merry snickered, grinning a happy horse grin at Ace.

Ace chuckled, giving Merry's mane a ruffle before turning back to Nami, who was frowning at him, and then he asked, "I needed to talk to you... about Luffy."

Nami stiffened completely and quickly looked away. "Don't want to ..."

Ace had to scoff. Surprisingly, she reminded him quite a bit of his brother. At the very least, she gave the same response as Luffy. Both were stubborn... "Yeah, I figured you didn't, but what I have to say is important, and as his brother... I've come begging," he said, giving Nami a sheepish smile.

"What are you talking about?" Nami asked, turning her deep frown on him.

"Luffy told me about how you've been helping him sleep..."

"I am not sleeping with him!" she cried, moving to Merry's other side and away from Ace.

Merry nudged Nami with his nose, but Nami refused to acknowledge the horse's attempts.

"Look," Ace started with a deep sigh, "I understand how you would be upset with him, and believe me, he's just as upset. I know he wouldn't ask you himself, which is why I'm asking instead. He's not in the best shape, and... if he doesn't get the rest he needs, he will just get worse."

"Worse?" Nami asked quietly as her frown deepened.

"Yeah... meaning, he'll just die. What? You never wondered what might happen if a person can't sleep?" Ace asked, frowning back at her.

Nami paled, managing to move closer against Merry. Merry nudged her, urging her not to let his master die. Looking at Merry this time, she frowned softly before clutching her chest, but then blinked when she felt the charm hanging around her neck. She had actually forgotten about it. Her expression saddened as she pulled it out of the neckline of her dress and looked down at it in the palm of her hand. She closed her fingers around it and muttered something. Then after a moment, she pulled it off and handed it to Ace. "Give this to him," she said before turning back around after he took it from her.

Ace frowned softly, wondering how his brother could have fallen in love with someone who didn't care if he died, but then he asked, "What is this?"

"He gave it to me... yesterday," she said, and he started to become upset, but she continued, "It's a protection charm. I think... it will help him sleep. Just... try it," she said, her back still turned to him as she went back to Merry.

He frowned at her further, but then he just turned to leave and headed back to Luffy. Merry neighed and nodded at Nami. "Sorry, Merry, but I just can't," Nami whispered to the horse, hugging him tightly, "I hope it works..."

Merry neighed in understanding.

x x x x

Luffy looked up, when Ace entered the room."Hey, so, what'd Gramps say?" he asked and tilted his head to his brother.

Sighing deeply and closing his eyes, Ace plopped down into the chair before pulling out the charm and holding it up to him by the string. "Went to go see Nami instead and asked... if she would help you."

"You what?" Luffy exclaimed, looking angry, and he snatched it away from him. "Why would you do that!?"

"Because you need the help, Luffy!" Ace yelled back, also frowning angrily.

"Not from her! I can do this on my own!" Luffy said, and then he allowed himself to look down at the charm, dangling from the string of leather. He hated to admit it, but it stung that she apparently didn't care about his condition, and that she gave the charm back. He even felt the unmistakable sting of tears, but he stubbornly blinked those away.

"Bullshit! And it's not what you think, Luffy! She didn't just give it back," Ace said, and then he sighed to calm himself. "She said... She said it should help you sleep," he said softly, and reopened his eyes from the sigh. "Try putting it on."

Luffy lifted his glossy eyes to his brother, which Ace did not fail to notice, and then Luffy asked, "What?" So, she wasn't just giving it back to him, because she wanted nothing to do with him? He felt a little flutter in his chest, but ignored it and asked, "How's it supposed to help me sleep?"

"Don't know. Sit up and give it here. I'll put it on for you," Ace said, taking it into both his hands and widening the loop.

Luffy sat up and leaned his head forward for Ace to put the charm around his neck. Ace did so and sat back to watch to see what would happen. Luffy blinked, yawned, and then laid back onto his pillow, falling asleep instantly. Ace blinked a few times, amazed that it actually worked, and then he smiled softly. It probably only worked because the girl did care. He really hoped that this could be repaired in the end... for the sake of them both.

A hooded figure, perched on the roof across from the guild, smirked down into the window at the brothers before getting up and suddenly disappearing.

x x x x

Luffy groaned and opened his eyes. He'd fallen asleep; he'd really fallen asleep. He looked down at the charm hanging around his neck and tears welled up in his eyes. "Thank you... Nami," he whispered and smiled softly. However, he was startled, when there was a knock on the door. He looked up and called, "Who is it?"

"Ah, it's me, Luffy!" a small voice called from outside.

"Chopper?" Luffy asked and sat up. "Is that you?"

"Yeah! Can I come in? I've been told you've been injured. I just got back today," Chopper called through the door.

"Oh, sure..." Luffy said with a smile. "Come on in."

The door opened and a young boy with brown hair and dark sapphire blue eyes walked in. "Ah... you look terrible."

Luffy snorted and said, "Wish I could say the same for the other guy."

This made the young boy laugh. "Didn't go so well, huh?" he asked, setting his bag down and beginning to remove things to treat Luffy's wounds better.

"Nope," Luffy said and winced as Chopper treated his wounds.

"Aah, that's a shame. I heard you were up against Teach, though, and without a full night's sleep. It's not your fault," he said, rubbing ointment into the wounds and sewing up any cuts that were open gashes.

"Yeah... not my fault," Luffy muttered and frowned. Her fault, he thought to himself, but then he looked down at the charm. No... he couldn't blame her. He really couldn't blame anyone, but himself on this one.

"Moria really got you good, huh? I've been looking around like mad to find the counter spell, but all I could gather is that it's old magic... really old. I am trying though," Chopper explained with a soft frown.

"Heh..." Luffy chuckled and then said, "I actually managed to find a way to get around the spell."

"Eh!? How!?" Chopper cried in astonishment.

"Well..." Luffy said and sighed, "a girl... gave me this charm." He held up Nami's charm."It helps me sleep..."

"Eeh?" Chopper exclaimed softly, taking the charm into his hand. "Aah! I-It's filled with... magic I've never felt before. I might even be able to study this to find a more permanent solution. How did she...? Who is she?"

"Her name is Nami," Luffy said softly and looked away. "She's here working off a debt to the guild."

Looking up at Luffy, Chopper blinked a bit and then asked, "Someone working to pay off her debt? She seems important to you though. Why's she working to pay a debt?"

Luffy's eye twitched, and he quickly looked back at Chopper. "She isn't important at all!" he snapped, looking unreasonably angry. "She's just here, because she refused to pay for my services! That's all!"

"Eee!" Chopper screeched, backing away from him quickly in fear, and then he exclaimed, "Sorry! I didn't mean to!"

Luffy's eyes softened, and he forced himself to relax. "Sorry," he said, "it's not your fault... I didn't mean to get upset."

Seeing the change in his eyes, Chopper blinked and questioned softly, "Eh?" He then frowned softly, looking very confused. He lied?

"So," Luffy said, "how do the injuries look? Will I live?"

Chopper was still confused by Luffy's outburst, but decided to smile instead and said, "Of course, and since you're getting sleep, you should be just fine within a few days."

"Whaaat!?" Luffy said and pouted. "A few days?! Don't tell me I have to lay around for the whole time?"

"Ah... Well... yeah," Chopper replied and frowned at him deeply.

Luffy frowned. "Humph," he huffed as he folded his arms and laid back, "...I'm bored."

"Well, maybe just a day then," Chopper said with a sigh.

"Thanks," Luffy said and grinned at Chopper. "So ...how about something to eat?"

"Ah, there's this blonde guy, who's been cooking for everyone all afternoon. I'll go see what they have right now," Chopper said, getting up and packing his things.

Luffy's eye twitched again, and then he said, "I... see..."

"Anyways, be right back," Chopper said, not noticing the twitch as he left the room.

"Right..." Luffy muttered as he left. Well, if Sanji didn't know who it was for, then he should be safe.

x x x x

The next day Luffy was feeling well enough to get up. He already had a job lined up, so he went to Nami's room and knocked on her door.

Frowning softly, Nami turned to the door and called, "Who is it?"

"It's me," Luffy said through her door. "We've got a job." He sighed. Was this someone's sick idea of a joke, that he still had to be around her each day?

"Oh," she replied quietly as she lowered her head, "I'll... be out in a minute."

"Hurry up," he said with another sigh and leaned against the wall by her door.

"Right," she muttered quietly, gathering up her books and setting them back into the bookcase. She then changed into a pair of leather pants and bodice. Going to the door and opening it, she kept her head lowered and said, "Okay..."

"Come on," he said, in a disheartened voice, walking ahead of her and leading her to their next job.

She didn't immediately follow as her eyes drooped with some sadness. Nothing at all had changed. After awhile, she finally did follow after him, and then she said, "I would like my own horse."

He felt a twinge of sadness within his heart, and then he said, "Right, I have one you can use."

"Thanks," she just muttered, lowering her head again.

Luffy led her to the stables and stopped in front of a palomino mare's stall. "You can use her," he said and nodded to the horse.

Blinking up at the beautiful palomino, Nami then smiled and bowed slightly. "It's nice to meet you. I hope you don't mind."

The palomino shook her head and then also bowed. Across the stable, Merry snorted. Luffy set about getting Merry saddled and ready to go. It didn't help that the horse was being skittish and agitated.

Nami turned to Merry and smiled nervously. "I'm sorry, Merry," she said softly, but then sighed and went to saddle up the horse she'd be using.

The palomino stood absolutely still, but turned her head towards Merry and snorted, as if saying she would take care of the girl, seeing as she seemed special to him. Merry nodded and finally let Luffy finish saddling him.

Once he'd finished, Luffy led Merry out of the stable."You ready?" he asked Nami over his shoulder.

"Yeah," she replied quietly, leading the beautiful palomino outside and then mounted her.

Satisfied, Luffy turned and started off towards the location of their job. Nami followed along, wondering what the job was this time, but she wasn't about to ask him. She wanted to keep the talking to a minimum. Though, she hoped there were no dead bodies this time...

There was a man standing outside the house, waiting for Luffy to arrive. He looked up to see Luffy, followed by an orange haired girl, riding up towards him. Nami blinked down at the ridiculously dressed man, wearing a cape, large hat with a feather and goggles on it, and wearing a huge golden cross as a necklace. She then looked at Luffy, wondering who he was.

"Oi, Usopp," Luffy said and grinned, waving at his friend.

"Luffy, how've you been?" Usopp said and walked towards his friend.

"Been better," Luffy replied, shrugging.

Nami closed her eyes and sighed, turning her head away a bit as she remained atop the palomino. Usopp took a deep breath and exhaled. He'd got a pretty good hold on his nerves now that he was out of the house, but there was no telling how long that would last. "So, who's your friend?" he asked, looking curiously to Nami.

"Nami, she's working off a debt at the guild," Luffy replied curtly and matter of fact.

Nami turned to offer the long nosed man a slight smile before looking away again, but then suddenly paled as her fear rose, and she quickly looked over at Usopp. "Wait... Usopp? Usopp as in... the exorcist?" she rasped, her throat closing from her growing fear. Definitely no dead bodies, but definitely still dead people!

Usopp twitched and said, "Well... um... you could say that." He laughed nervously, glancing back at the building. "I do... handle ghosts... sometimes..."

Her eyes darted to the house then, beginning to pull a bit tighter on the reins, causing the poor palomino to back up a bit. "You... You never said... this was another exorcism!" she exclaimed, looking over at Luffy, her face lost of all color.

"Yohoho~! Is this the man you were talking about, Usopp-san!?" a tall man, wearing sunglasses, said as he came running out of the house.

"Ah, Brook! Yeah, this is Luffy!" Usopp replied, but gasped.

Just as Brook ran out and approached them, a shrill scream filled the air. Nami looked up at the window and saw a frightful sight of a little girl screaming out of the upstairs window with a distorted face. Shivering from the sight as well, Nami, however, seemed to relax completely, her lips parting. Before anyone could say another word, she swung off her horse and ran inside.

"Oi!" Luffy yelled and quickly dismounted as well. "Nami, what the hell are you doing!?" he yelled and ran into the house after her.

"Oi, Luffy!"Usopp yelled after his friend.

"Oi! Little girl, where are you going!?" a blue haired man, who seemed to be ducking behind a sofa and table and all sorts of other things, yelled at Nami as she ran passed and up the stairs, but she ignored the man.

Slowing down at the top of the stairs, her heart pounding, Nami took a step, looking around her for any signs of the ghost, while breathing heavily. So far, she didn't see anything, but then suddenly, a puff of mist came out from her mouth, and she turned into a door way. The child was standing in the middle of the room, her hair covering most of her face, though her eyes were glaring back at Nami. Turning completely to face her, Nami's breath hitched with fear, but she didn't move, just keeping her eyes on the girl.

Luffy ignored Usopp and the other two and ran up the stairs, where Nami had gone, pausing just at the top. "Oi! Nami!" he called to her, seeing her standing in front of a doorway, and so he quickly moved toward her.

Seeing Luffy there, the girl shrieked a deafening cry, forcing Nami to cover her ears, but then Nami turned and shoved Luffy away. "Go away!" she yelled over the shrill cry and then stepped into the room, the door slamming shut behind her.

"Oi!" Luffy yelled, banging his fist on the door. What the hell was going on here?

The scream had stopped the second the door slammed shut. Nami gasped, turning to the closed door and hearing Luffy on the other side, but then she turned back to the child, who was still glaring at her suspiciously. "It's okay... I'm not here to hurt you or bother you," Nami said, taking a few steps forward, but the girl took one big one back.

"Oi, who was that girl!?" the blue haired man cried, coming up the stairs with Brook.

"An idiot is who she is. Damn it!" Luffy swore as he shoved the door. "The hell is she locking me out for?"

Usopp crept up the stairs, peeking around the corner. "Is everything okay? Franky? Luffy?"

"Don't think it was her, who locked ya out," Franky said with a deep frown. "That ghost hasn't let a single one of us near, or even up the stairs until now..."

"It's all right," Nami said, finally kneeling down slowly. "That man outside, he won't hurt you either, I promise," she continued in a soothing voice, and then she pressed a hand to her chest. "My name is Nami."

"Ah... is she... speaking to the ghost?" Brook asked, approaching the door.

Luffy blinked and said, "What?"

Usopp frowned, crawling closer to the door and leaning his ear to it, listening to what was happening inside. "Yeah... she is..."

"You don't have to be afraid... not anymore," Nami said and smiled softly. "What's your name?"

The child's face seemed to relax a bit, sensing Nami's fear leaving her as well. "Melody ..." It was barely a whisper, and the voice itself seemed to echo slightly.

"Melody... That's a very beautiful name," Nami said, smiling even more. "Melody, do you like music, or your parents?" The girl nodded, and so Nami whispered, "I do too." Then she began to hum a soft tune, and the girl slowly began to approach her.

"What's she...?" Usopp started, and then he frowned. "Is she humming?"

"Let me hear," Luffy said as he shoved Usopp aside and placed his ear against the door.

Nami smiled brighter to her, holding out both her hands to her. The girl slowly approached, and very slowly reached out her hands to Nami's. What seemed like an eternity past, and then the girl finally slipped her cold hands into Nami's, but Nami didn't flinch. She closed her fingers around hers and let the girl sit in her lap. Nami then began to rock her gently as she hummed to her, cradling her in her arms.

Luffy frowned. It was the tune she always hummed to herself. What was going on in there? He didn't hear anything happening, so there was no fighting going on. Pulling away from the door, he gently knocked.

The girl jumped, turning to stare at the door with wide eyes, but Nami quickly soothed her. "Shh, it's all right, really. He won't hurt you," Nami whispered gently, and the child turned her attention back on Nami. "Shall we invite him in?"

The child looked to the door, staring for awhile, but then the door unlocked and slowly opened. Luffy took a step back, but then walked into the room. He stopped and stared at Nami sitting in the middle of the room with the ghost girl sitting on her lap.

The door then slammed shut, locking the others outside. "Oi!" Franky called, running to the door.

"See?" Nami asked, reaching up to gently tuck the girl's hair behind her ear. "He's not so bad, right?" Her voice was still soft as she cradled the girl in her lap. "It's all right now. You don't have to stay here all alone... so scared and angry, I promise."

Not so bad, huh? Luffy frowned gently. So... did she hate him or not? Did he hate her? No... he didn't believe he could bring himself to hate her. His heart beat faster as he watched the scene before him, with Nami holding the young ghost girl, just like a mother would.

The girl eyed Luffy for a long time before looking back up at Nami. She looked like an ordinary little girl, now that her hair wasn't in her face. Nami then began to hum to her again, and the child laid her head on Nami's shoulder, feeling completely relaxed with her. Rocking with her back and forth, after awhile, the girl began to cry silently, and Nami's expression softened with sadness. "It's all right now," she whispered, hugging her closer to her.

When the ghost girl started crying, Luffy took a step forward, but stopped. He didn't know what to do in this situation.

The child gasped, shifting her watery eyes to Luffy, fear filling them. "He won't hurt you ..." Nami whispered, cradling and petting over her head, but then the girl buried her face into Nami's chest, crying even more. "Shh, it's all right now," Nami whispered, more tears coming to her eyes and slowly gliding down her face. "It's all right. Don't cry," she soothed, rocking her a bit more, and then she began to hum again, though her voice quivered with her tears. After awhile, she said, "I know it's not fair... So young... You should have lived so much longer than this," she whispered, and a soft sob escaped the little girl, wrapping her arms around Nami.

Luffy swallowed the lump in his throat and knelt down next to Nami and the ghost carefully. He didn't want to frighten the girl more.

The child wailed painfully into Nami's chest, releasing her pain, her grief, her sadness, and all her fears seemed to leave her as well. Nami cradled her tightly and protectively as she cried with her and continued to rock her. She even attempted to continue humming to the child. They remained that way for some time, until the child finally stopped crying and looked up at Nami.

Reaching up her small chubby hands, she cupped Nami's cheeks, bringing Nami's forehead down to hers, and then she whispered, "Thank you ..." And without either having to do a thing, she suddenly flashed into a bright light and was gone. Nami's eyes turned sadder as she stared down into the empty place in her lap, more tears forming and falling as she rubbed her fingers together.

Luffy blinked, staring at where the girl had disappeared. He sighed and looked over at Nami, tentatively placing his hand on her shoulder. Nami didn't look at him, closing her eyes and after awhile, she sighed deeply before standing up. Turning to the door, she opened it, and without saying a word, she walked out, leaving him there. Franky blinked as she left, and then looked inside, seeing that the ghost was gone. What none of them could do, this young girl had done without using magic or any such thing.

Luffy sighed and left the room to follow her."Well... job's done," he muttered to the three there.

"Eh...what did she do?" Usopp asked and stared into the empty room.

"I don't know," Luffy said with a shrug and just headed down the stairs.

Ignoring them all, Nami mounted the palomino with her back turned to the house, waiting to go back to the guild. "Aah, a mysterious thing," Brook said, rubbing his chin with his boney thin finger and followed Luffy down with the other two.

"Yeah... Mysterious," Luffy said as he left the house, going back to Merry. "Well," he said, turning to the other three, "thanks." He then turned back around and headed back home to the guild.

"Ah, yeah..." Usopp said and waved goodbye to his friend.

Nami and the horse already started back for the guild. She didn't turn or say anything and even remained silent the whole trip back to the guild.

Once they made it back to the guild, Luffy finally tried talking to her."What did...?" he started to ask, but then he sighed. "How did you know what to do back there?"

"I didn't ..." And that was all she said as she walked back to her room.

Luffy sighed and put the two horses away by himself.

x x x x

Igaram walked into the guild, looking around for the group, that had escorted the princess to Mariejoie. As he walked around, he came up to a black haired, freckled young man and asked, "Excuse me, but could you possibly help me?"

Blinking, Ace turned to the man and smiled. "Yes, what can I help you with?"

"I'm looking for Mr. Luffy's group, and a Mr. Zoro if you know him," Igaram said.

Ace's lips quirked a bit. "Mr. Luffy?" he asked with a chuckle. "Luffy's here. I'll go and get him for you . Zoro too," he said before turning and walking away. "Just wait there ..."

"Thank you," Igaram said and waited.

Going into the kitchens and dining room, Ace looked around and finally spotted Luffy. "Oye, Luffy!"

Luffy looked up from the food he was eating and asked, "What?"

"You got a visitor. He's looking for you and Zoro. Might be a customer," Ace said, thumbing behind him.

"Oh..." Luffy said and stood up. "Does Zoro know?"

"Not yet. Why don't you go and tell him?" Ace said with a small smile before leaving.

"Right," Luffy muttered and went to look for Zoro. Now where would the perpetually sleeping man go?

Luffy found Zoro in the lounge room, sitting in the corner and snoring quite loudly. Walking up to him, Luffy nudged him with his foot to wake him. Snorting, Zoro blinked his eyes open and looked up at Luffy before frowning. "What?"

"Someone's here to see us," Luffy said and nodded towards the front hall.

"Wha...? Who?" Zoro asked, finally standing up.

"Dunno," Luffy said, starting to walk towards the main hall. "Ace didn't tell me."

"Right..." Zoro said, following along behind him.

When they made it to the front hall, Luffy's eyes widened in recognition, and he called, "Oh, captain-ossan."

"Oh... you again," Zoro muttered with a yawn. "What is it this time?"

"We have your pay," Igaram said as he looked at them. "Where are Nami-san and Robin-san?"

Luffy blinked and said, "Uh, Nami's in her room. I don't know where Robin is." He looked at Zoro. "Do you know where she is?"

Zoro blinked and looked at Luffy. "Why would I know?"

"I dunno," Luffy said and shrugged. "Just figured..."

"Well, I don't ..." Zoro said, looking away again with a frown.

"Ah," Luffy said and looked back at Igaram. "So, do you want us to come pick it up, or do you have it with you?"

"I have it right here," Igaram said. "Could the two of you possibly bring their share to the two ladies?"

"Oh," Luffy said and nodded. "Sure..."

"Right," Zoro said, looking down at the payments he handed to Luffy and then accepted his own before looking back up at the man.

"Thank you," Igaram said and bowed. "We might call on you again, should we need assistance."

"'Kay," Luffy said, watching the man walk away, and then he turned to Zoro. "I'm going to go give Nami her share. Could you give Robin hers?" he asked, handing the sack to him.

Zoro turned to frown at Luffy, but then accepted the sack and he muttered, "Yeah, sure..."

"Thanks," Luffy said and started walking to Nami's room.

"Right," Zoro muttered before walking off.

Luffy came to Nami's door and knocked on it. "Who is it?" Nami called from inside.

"It's me," Luffy said, not being able to help the frown, which formed to the sound of her voice.

Closing her eyes with a sigh, Nami looked down to the book in her lap, and then she finally said, "Come in..."

Luffy took a deep breath and opened the door. He stepped inside and just looked over to her in silence. He could see the pain so clearly in her eyes, as if they were reflecting his own. Was he just a reminder to her? Was it really so painful for her to look at him? Was this why she hated him so much?

When he only stood there in silence, she frowned softly, feeling the pain pushing to the surface and forcing tears into her eyes. She quickly looked down to her book to hide it, and asked in a voice she hoped lacked interest, "What do you want?"

He held up a bag with her share of the pay and said, "I have your pay, from the escort job."

"My pay?" she asked, frowning a bit and looking back up at him. "Doesn't that belong to your grandfather? Why did you bring it here?"

He frowned at her, feeling his own pain to the way she always looked at him, as if he was something vile. "Just take it," he said, tossing the bag to her. "If you're afraid someone will take it, just hide it." Clamping her teeth down, she then turned to the bag that had landed next to her and then up at him, but could not find anything to say in return. "It's yours," he said as he turned to leave. "You earned it."

Closing her eyes with a soft sigh, she then said, "Thank you."

He paused at the door, clutching the knob, and closed his eyes tight. "You're welcome," he said tightly and left, closing the door behind him.

Nami's eyes softened and lowered to the floor, her heart panging as she lifted up her hand to clutch it with a gasp. Luffy leaned against the door after he'd closed it, and blinked back tears. Something so small... and yet... He frowned and gasped, feeling an intense pain stab within his heart. He frowned deeper as he clutched his chest, feeling confused. What... What was that he'd felt? It hurt... so much...

**To Be Continued...**

**Authors' Notes:**

Darth: This chapter reminds me of Batman.

Con: Batman? o.o How?

Darth: You know, how Nami was comforting the little girl. It's a lot like an episode of the Justice League.

Con: *Gasps* Ooooh! Ace! :-D I remember that episode! HAHAHA!

Darth: There you go.

Con: I remember thinking it cool, how her name was Ace, and of course, I couldn't help, but to think of... well, Ace! xD

Darth: That seems to be an unlucky name.

Con: Indeed it does... Strangely, any animal we named after One Piece characters all died... I think their names were too epic for them to handle... Also, in Batman comforting little girls... I'm reminded of this weird ass Batman movie I saw, with a female Robin...

Darth: The Dark Knight Returns?

Con: That's the one... It kind of freaked me out a bit... But the part with Batman comforting the female Robin, when she was scared, was adorable...

Darth: That was an awesome movie. Both parts were.

Con: Only saw the... second one, I believe. Well, it had to be, since it ended.

Darth: The one that ends with him fighting, and beating I might add, Superman?

Con: Haha, yup! Superman freaked me on in this one... but whatever... We've gone off track again. xD We hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Until next time! :-D

Darth: See ya.


	19. Chapter 19: They Suffer

**Authors' Notes:**

Con: Uh oh... I don't like the look of that title... ~.~

Darth: Mwahahaha!

Con: Mwahahahaha! Who am I kidding? I love it! xD

Darth: Mwahaha indeed

Con: Mwahahaha! You guys are gonna hate us!

Darth: Mwahaha so they will.

Con: Lack of mwahaha much? xD

Darth: Never. Mwahaha!

Con: Mwahahaha!

P.S. from Con: All right, so... these are the last three chapters. The last three are also my favorites, besides chapter 16. :) I especially love chapter 20. ;) Yes, yes I am teasing you guys. X) It's what I do best. Anyways, I really, really hope you guys enjoy the last three chapters. :D Enjoy!

**Charmed**

**Chapter 19: They Suffer**

Vivi bit her lip, looking around the place and feeling excited. The guild was bigger than she thought it would be, and she was excited to see them all again. And even if Luffy had Nami, she still wanted to see him again.

Robin looked up from the book she had borrowed from the library, moderately surprised to see her, and then she said, "Oh, Princess."

"Oh!" Vivi cried softly with a smile before turning to Robin. "Hello!"

"Hello, I'm surprised to see you here," Robin said, closing her book and standing up.

"Well, I came to see... Luffy-san... and everyone else," Vivi said, flushing and lowering her head a bit.

"We came to hire you as an escort for the journey back," Igaram said, standing tall beside the princess.

"I see," Robin said, looking thoughtful. Things were a little troublesome with the situation between Luffy and Nami. She wondered if having them meet would be a good idea.

"Are they... here?" Vivi asked, smiling with her flush.

"Ah," Robin hesitated, but then she nodded, "yes, I think they are. Nami-san is probably in her room, and Luffy-san is either in his room or the bar."

"N-Nami-san? Th-The bar?" Vivi asked with a frown. That didn't sound good. Not to mention, what was Nami still doing there?

"Ee," Robin said with a slow nod. "I can help you look for him if you want."

Pell stepped forward and said, "Your majesty, I don't think this is an appropriate place for you to be wandering around."

"Oh, please, Pell! I am safe here! This is Luffy's guild!" Vivi said, walking forward to let Robin lead her.

Robin turned and led her to the bar, where Luffy was sitting in a corner, nursing a bottle of some unknown liquor with bloodshot eyes.

"Oh!" Vivi cried softly, a hand flying to her mouth before turning a concerned frown to Robin. "What... What's going on? What's wrong with him? I don't understand," she whispered and dropped her hand as her eyes once again went to Luffy.

"It's... complicated," Robin said, walking up to the table Luffy was sitting at. "Luffy-san, do you mind if we join you?"

"Hello... Luffy-san," Vivi called softly, smiling down at him uncertainly.

"Oh... hello," Luffy blinked with a nod and sat up straighter. "Sure, I don't mind."

Vivi frowned sadly, but then sat down at the table slowly. "Luffy-san... why...?"

Luffy looked at her and then at the mug. "Tastes good," he muttered, taking a drink of the liquor.

"Oh," she breathed, but frowned deeper, looking at Robin in question.

Robin discreetly shook her head, and then she looked at Luffy. "How is Nami-san, Luffy-san?"

The corner of Luffy's mouth twitched downward. His grip on the bottle tightened, and then he started drinking again.

Vivi's eyes saddened, thinking she might understand. So, things weren't going so well between them. "Um... Luffy-san... I was wondering... if you minded escorting me back home; you and the others?"

Luffy looked into the tiny ring of the bottle and nodded. "I can't speak for the others, but I can definitely come."

"I see. Then... perhaps... I could ask them?" Vivi asked softly with a sigh and lowering her head. "Where are they?"

"Zoro's probably in the lounge sleeping," Luffy said, taking another swig.

"Oh... and Sanji-san... and... Nami-san?" Vivi asked tentatively, quite unnerved by his condition. Would he really be okay?

"Sanji's probably in the kitchen," Luffy said, avoiding mentioning Nami.

"Oh," Vivi said and swallowed hard, still frowning at Luffy. "I guess... I will go and ask him myself then, and perhaps Robin-san will take me to... Nami-san," she said quietly before standing up with a soft sigh.

"I'll go with you," Luffy said and sighed, downing the rest of the liquor. "I could use the air."

"Oh... right," Vivi said, smiling slightly as she turned to glance at Robin. "Sanji-san first, please?"

"'Kay," Luffy said, standing up and gesturing towards the kitchen. He led them there and opened the door. "Ladies first," he said to Vivi and stepped aside, allowing both women to go in first before following.

"Thank you," Vivi said, smiling a bit brighter at him before stepping inside.

Sanji looked up from the meal he was preparing, and seeing Princess Vivi, he smiled brightly. However, when he saw Luffy, he faltered slightly. Even so, he smiled brightly to Vivi and said, "Ah, Princess, what goddess do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Vivi smiled up at the man and said, "I've come to ask Luffy-san and all of you to escort me back home."

"Of course," Sanji twirled over to her, taking her hand and bowing before her. "It would be an honor, no a pleasure, no in fact it would be a privilege to escort your divine personage safely to your home."

"Is he always like this?" Pell muttered to Luffy.

"Yeah," Luffy replied curtly as he gazed dully to the blonde.

Vivi's cheeks flushed a bit, and she said with a bright smile, "Oh, well, thank you!"

"Consider me your knight protector," Sanji said and bowed.

Luffy snorted with derision and said, "Give it a rest and just say yes like normal people."

Sanji turned around and glared at Luffy. "Shut it, slaver."

Luffy's eye twitched, and he quickly stepped up to Sanji. "Make me, cyclops," he snapped, vehemently.

"You wanna start something, loser boy?" Sanji seethed, also stepping up into Luffy's face, and Luffy shoved him away harshly.

"Oh, please! Don't fight!" Vivi pleaded with a soft frown, reaching up to gently clasp Luffy's shoulder. "Please?"

Luffy glanced down at her hand, almost stiffly before looking up at her, and there was a coldness in his eyes, not to mention, they were both glowing blue. The princess gasped, and Pell quickly grabbed her, pulling her behind him with a glare to Luffy. The glow within Luffy's eyes quickly vanished as he closed his eyes, and he took a deep breath to calm himself. "Fine... I'm sorry..." he muttered quietly, and he really did feel bad. She really was very nice...

"For you, anything," Sanji said in all seriousness as he bowed to the princess.

Vivi smiled apprehensively, and then she asked, tentatively, "Shall we go find Zoro-san then?"

Sanji scoffed and said, "You don't need him, if you have me."

"Still think I'd like Zoro in the group," Luffy muttered and took a few steps away towards the exit.

"Of course Zoro-san will be in the group," Vivi said with more of a relaxed smile, now that Luffy had calmed down, "and Nami-san too, of course."

"Whatever you say, my angel~!" Sanji said and twirled, orbiting around her.

Luffy looked away, when she mentioned Nami and muttered, "Yeah... of course."

Frowning at Luffy's back, Vivi sighed deeply before leaving to find where Zoro might be sleeping, and then off to find Nami, which she was saving for last. She had no idea how Luffy would react to this. She wondered what had happened to make things so bad between them, and again, why was Nami still there?

"This way to the lounge," Luffy said and motioned towards the area.

"All right, thank you," Vivi said with a smile and followed along behind him.

Luffy led her and the others to the longue. "It's just down this way," he said and pointed down a hall. "And down there is the living spaces, and there is the library," he said, giving Vivi a mini-tour.

"Ooh, this place is really big!" Vivi declared with a soft giggle.

"Yup," Luffy said, letting a grin shine through. He would just try and remain positive. They needed him at his best. "We're the biggest guild in Mariejoie, starting back from when my grandpa first founded it."

"Ooh, wow... That's amazing, Luffy-san!" Vivi said, absolutely beaming at him, seeing as he was now grinning. She felt much better to seeing his smile. "What else is here?"

"Well," Luffy said as he thought about it, "we have the stables, prison cells to hold bounties in, if they cannot be delivered immediately, the armory..." He thought some more. "I think there's a research lab, but I don't go there often."

"A research lab? For what? To research different magic?" Vivi asked, running up a bit to walk beside him more.

"Pretty much," Luffy said and nodded. "I think they also research the different effects spells have on different conditions, and things like that."

"Ooh! That sounds really interesting, Luffy-san!" she said, laughing lightly. "Will you show me before we leave? I would really like to see, and I don't think I will ever get this chance again."

"Sure, I could do that," Luffy said and shrugged. Why not? It would be nice to spend time with someone that didn't hate him...

Sanji's eyebrow twitched as he walked a little behind them. What was it with Luffy and always attracting women, even the one that was supposed to hate him? "If you want princess, I'd be glad to take you..."

"You don't know where it is," Luffy said, stating a simple fact, though there was slight warning in his tone.

Vivi's cheeks flushed brightly before looking at both, and then she said, "You can both take me, can't you? We can all go together!"

"Sure," Luffy said, glancing behind him and glaring at Sanji from the side of his eyes.

"This should be fun then!" Vivi beamed, taking this time to spend with Luffy without Nami being there to ruin it. "Shall we go then?"

"Sure," Luffy smiled. He was actually feeling calm, and close to happy.

Robin chuckled and said, "I will go to the lounge, then and inform Zoro-san of the journey back." She then turned and headed towards the lounge, where presumably the green haired swordsman would be.

"Ah, thank you, Robin-san!" Vivi called with a bright smile, looking forward to this tour.

They continued on within the guild, Luffy's feet moving on their own. He led them to Nami's room, and his mood fell. "This is her room," he said flatly and knocked on the door. He did not even need to say, who 'her' was. They could all hear it in his voice.

Vivi gaped up at Luffy. She hadn't asked to be taken to her room. Quite frankly, she was confused. Why would he bring her there first, when she had asked for a tour of the research labs? Her face fell a bit, but then she made herself smile and said, "O-Oh..." Even on bad terms... somehow, he still ended up here. "I suppose... we could inform her of the escort then."

Luffy just nodded and knocked on the door. Sanji's one eye narrowed to the idiot mage, but then he scoffed with a shake of his head and looked away.

Frowning a bit and hearing voices on the other side of her door and then a knock, Nami then frowned before getting up to answer it. "Who-? Oh..." Nami spotted Vivi and immediately frowned deeply, "it's you..." she said, rather coolly.

Vivi stiffened a bit, lifting her chin into the air. She would not let the other woman ruin her mood. She nodded to Nami curtly and said, "I-I came... to see if you would all escort me back home, but," she glanced to Luffy and Sanji, "Luffy-san and Sanji-san were going to take me on a tour..."

Nami's eyes twitched a bit as she quickly glanced to both men, but then her eyes rested upon Vivi once again. "Oh... that's nice... Well, have fun with that," she said, frowning deeply at the girl. Why the hell had they come to her door? Was it just to inform her of the escort mission? Well, consider her informed. "Thanks for telling me," she said, of course, talking about the mission, but her words held sarcasm, as if also implying about Vivi telling her about the tour.

"You're welcome! And we will!" Vivi shot back before turning and walking off with a huff.

Luffy shook his head, and followed after Vivi. "Sorry," he said, "I don't know why I brought you here..."

Nami frowned deeply, but softly, feeling a strong pang in her heart and even tears wanted to come forth. However, she forced them away and closed her door behind her. "On second thought!" she called, though her voice quivered a bit. "Maybe I will come. I've been stuck in here all day long; all week long even. I could use the excuse to get out of my room," she said before following after them.

Luffy clutched at his chest, frowning down at his hand as well as the sudden pain that struck his heart. He then turned his head slightly, but refused to turn it all the way and look at her.

"Of course Nami-swan," Sanji said and twirled back to her.

Vivi blinked, seeing Luffy do this before frowning softly. Nami walked passed them a bit, ignoring Sanji, and then turned with her hands on her hips. "Well? Are we going or not?"

"Sure," Luffy muttered, not looking at her, though he did shoot Sanji a glare. He then started towards the labs.

Vivi frowned at Nami as she jogged passed to catch up to Luffy. Nami's eyes narrowed slightly as she frowned back and then followed after them.

Clenching his teeth slightly, Luffy could almost feel her nearness, and for some reason, it made him angry. Glancing to the side a bit towards her, his eyes twitched, and then he looked down at Vivi. Without any thought, his arm came up, offering it to the princess.

Blinking and flushing, Vivi bit her lip, but then sighed softly, having to wonder about his action, and then she smiled, taking his arm anyway. "Thank you, Luffy-san," she said softly, and then she had a thought. Maybe this was still her chance.

Nami frowned deeply, even narrowing her eyes as she turned to look away from them, a soft rumbling of thunder in the distance could be heard, but she even forced that away.

Sanji glanced at Nami nervously and called quietly, "Nami-san?"

He was ignored, and she forced herself to keep her head turned to the side. Sanji sighed and just looked away.

"It's just up here," Luffy said, leading them up to the labs.

"Oh! It's much bigger than I first thought!" Vivi cried, looking up at Luffy with a bright smile.

Nami's eye twitched, but she ignored it as best she could. She just went inside and looked around at everything. She was still curious, after all. Some of the things she saw even looked familiar from the books she'd read.

"Yeah..." Luffy said and chuckled. "Not sure I can tell you much about it though."

"It's all right!" Vivi beamed with a soft chuckle.

"Of course not," Nami replied sarcastically in a mutter from deep within the room. "An idiot like you wouldn't know anything this complicated."

Vivi's lips pursed as she looked over at Nami and said, "Don't ruin the tour!"

Nami rolled her eyes to the girl with a cold glare and said, "I'm not the idiot, who doesn't know anything about this place, even though he's been here, apparently, since birth."

"I know tons of stuff about this place," Luffy said, his voice low, and he glared at Nami. "I just don't care about the labs." One of the workers scoffed, quite offended by this. "Sorry," Luffy muttered to the man. The researcher shrugged.

"Even though the labs could possibly find an answer about your sleeping _problem_?" Nami retorted, frowning deeper. The researcher nodded hard in agreement to her.

"Please! I just wanted to take a tour!" Vivi cried, clutching Luffy's shoulders with a pleading look.

"They tried," Luffy said, glaring in return to her. "No such luck." The researcher glared again. It wasn't like they weren't trying. Ignoring the researcher, Luffy looked over at Vivi and said, "Of course, I'm sorry." He then continued on, leading Vivi through the labs and ignoring Nami.

Nami felt another pang, tears again trying to force their way up, but she refused to let them come as she followed after them. But even so, it hurt so much. She reached up, clutching at her heart. She did not notice the nearby researchers doing the same.

Luffy blinked, his eyes going blurry, and his chest ached once again. He gasped, reaching up to clutch his chest, but forced his arm back down. "Come on," he said to Vivi, ignoring it this time. "Let's keep moving." Now, for some reason, he just wanted to get away from Nami.

Vivi frowned softly, looking up at him. She could see his heart in his eyes. Why...?

Seeing that he was trying to get away from her, Nami finally slowed to a stop, the pain even greater as the tears did surface. Swallowing hard, her eyes saddened as she reached up to clutch the unbearable pain she felt, and outside, a soft rain began to fall as she watched them get further and further away. Then she turned and ran in the opposite direction.

"Ah, Nami-sa-!" Sanji started as he reached out a hand, but then he clamped his mouth shut and retracted his hand. He then turned a hard glare to the idiot. He really wanted to kick the shit out of him.

Luffy clenched his jaw as tears threatened to spill. He could feel her as she became further and further away from him. When he finally felt her leave completely, he sighed, clenching his eyes shut tight, and then turned to smile at Vivi, trying his hardest to ignore the sound of the soft rainfall outside. "Sorry about that."

Vivi could only frown up at him sadly for a bit before sighing. It hurt to see them like this. What had happened? "Perhaps... we could just continue the tour?" she asked, very softly and tried to smile.

"Yeah... that's a great idea. Where would you like to go next?" Luffy said and smiled at her warmly.

Seeing his smile, Vivi's cheeks flushed, and she smiled back. "Anywhere... Anywhere would be nice..."

"I could take you to the armory," Luffy said, grinning widely. "We've got some pretty rare magical items, weapons and armor stored there. Not everyone is allowed down there."

Sanji scoffed at this. Taking a woman to an armory? Ridiculous. The boy had no idea how to treat a woman, so why were they always interested in him?

Nami kept going, not really going anywhere, just letting her feet guide her. Before she knew it, she was out into the rain, standing for a bit, and then she made her way to the stables. Merry wouldn't judge her, he wouldn't try telling her it was all right, or try and talk to her about Luffy. He would just be there for her, and so, she threw herself over the horse and let it all out. She began to sob softly at first, her body shaking before they became a little louder. "That... That... jerk! He is, Merry!" she cried into her sobs.

Merry rubbed her with his fore leg, pulling her into somewhat of a hug.

Nami just continued to sob into Merry's fur, soaking in all the horse could offer her in comfort.

The rain seemed to come down even harder then, and Vivi couldn't help but to look out of the window at it, having missed what he said about the armory. "I-It's... raining so hard... all of a sudden. The sky was completely clear, when we arrived," she whispered, wondering about this rain.

"It's nothing," Luffy said, flatly, though his heart ached at the lie. He then just continued to lead her towards the armory.

Just across the stables, a hooded figure pulled their robe more over themselves, and a deep feminine chuckle exited from their lips as they looked on at the girl within the stables. "Just as I thought ..."

Merry suddenly looked up, glaring at the stable entrance, and then he snorted forcefully.

Sniffling hard, Nami looked up at the horse before looking out, and then she asked, "What is it, Merry?"

Merry snorted again at the entrance, nodding towards it and clopping a hoof against the dirt floor.

Blinking, Nami looked at Merry before back at the entrance, and then she went to it to look out. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she forced the rain to stop to see clearer, but she didn't see anything. Frowning deeper, she turned back to Merry then and said, "There's nothing there..."

Merry glared at the entrance, then snorted and looked away. Frowning with concern, Nami looked back out before sighing and going back to the horse.

"Oh, look... the rain suddenly stopped," Vivi said, grinning at the window and feeling better.

"That's good," Luffy said, distractedly. "Well, here we are," he said and stopped in front of the large armory doors.

"Oh, wow!" she cried with a grin, "I feel kind of special to be able to see it, since you said not many were allowed here!"

"Yup," Luffy nodded and grinned widely, though it seemed forced, "they've got some amazing stuff in here." He placed his hand on a crystal by the door and infused it with a little of his energy. The crystal recognized the energy and opened the door. The amount of energy he put into it also told the spell how many people were going to be coming in with him. Otherwise the barrier spell would block out anyone that was trying to get in besides him. "Well, what do you think?" He gestured to the large store room, which almost seemed more like a museum's storage room. Rows upon rows of magical artifacts, shelves of spears and swords and axes. Stands of armor, human and animal, and a very rare set of dragon armor.

"Oh wow ," Vivi breathed as she stepped inside, her mouth open in astonishment, "so many things... I don't think I've ever seen so many... magical items and... This is amazing," she said, walking slowly as she looked at every single thing.

"Yeah, most of these items were brought in by members of the guild during missions," Luffy said, looking at nothing in particular. Sanji just wandered in, remaining broodingly silent as he looked about at the items. They were, actually, quite fascinating to look at, and he could feel the different levels of magic within each item.

"Are they ever used again?" she asked, still in awe as she stopped in front of the most beautiful set of armor she'd ever seen. "Wow..."

"Sometimes, but you have to be ranked high enough in the guild to rent them out," Luffy said and shrugged.

"Rent them out? What do you mean?" she asked, looking over at him.

"Well," he said and shrugged, "loan them out I guess, but really you have to leave a deposit, which gets confiscated, if the items are irreparably damaged. A lot of these are worth a fortune, so they don't get used very often." He then pursed his lips, thinking about his grandfather. "Gramps is really stingy about this," he muttered. "Won't even let me use any of them without paying."

"Oh, I see... I guess I could understand. I'm sure some of these are irreplaceable," Vivi said, moving along to the next few things.

"And dangerous," Luffy said and nodded towards a large set of iron doors on the other end of the armory. "That's where we keep cursed items."

"Oh... I think I will be fine without seeing those," she said with a nervous chuckle before turning to smile at him.

"Yeah," Luffy said and had to laugh a bit. "No one but Gramps and Dad are allowed in there. In fact, the only time it's opened, is to put a new item in."

"Ah, that makes sense," she said, looking over to the door, and then she turned to him with a brighter smile. "Thank you for bringing me here, Luffy-san."

"No problem," Luffy said and smiled in return to her. "Would you like to see anywhere else?"

"Perhaps I can take you for a tour in the gardens, princess," Sanji said, breaking his silence and nearly interrupting Luffy. "I've had time to become quite acquainted with them since coming here."

"Oh... well..." Vivi said, turning to Sanji and smiling, though she was feeling a bit anxious for some reason. Then she turned to Luffy and asked, "Then... perhaps the gardens?"

"Sure," Luffy said and shrugged, "not much there that I know off though..."

Sanji sighed. Of course he didn't. The idiot was an idiot. "It's this way then, lovely princess," he said, leading them to the gardens.

"Thank you, Sanji-san," Vivi said, smiling at him as she walked out and then turned for them to join her.

Sanji followed, keeping pace with the other two, on Vivi's other side. "Of course, mademoiselle, it is my absolute pleasure," he said and smiled down to her.

Luffy followed closely next to Vivi, after closing the armory doors. He was begrudged at Sanji trying to get her attention. It felt weird, and he'd never been this interested in girls. Not until he met... His heart panged. Nami... Best to forget about her... He'd hurt her too much, and it hurt too much to be around her. Vivi's cheeks flushed lightly, not being able to help feeling flattered by the attention she was getting.

Sanji led them out into the gardens, located behind the guild building. The gardens were, in fact, an extensive park, with weeping willow trees, wide oaks, a pristine lawn, and gravel paths leading between flower beds.

"Oh... it's so beautiful..." Vivi said with a sigh and a smile.

At hearing voices, Nami stiffened and quickly stood. She had come to the gardens after visiting with Merry to seek solitude, and that just came crashing down.

"Oh ..." Vivi breathed, frowning in Nami's direction.

Luffy froze, when seeing Nami again. He... didn't know what to do. He had not been prepared in seeing her again. Now he had three choices; leave, and disappoint Vivi, pretend Nami wasn't there at all or have to be around her. Maybe if he just turned away and ignored her... She probably didn't want to be bothered anyway.

Sanji frowned softly. He now regretted disturbing her solitude, which he was sure she wanted, but he also didn't want to cause any tension, or to hurt Nami-san's feelings by ignoring her. "Ah, Nami-san," he called, making it final, which made Luffy wince.

Clamping her teeth down and not being able to look in their direction any longer, Nami felt the pain in her heart, which seemed to be growing more and more painful. She didn't want to be around them, but she refused to leave, so, instead... she sat back down. She was irritated that she was made to feel as if she was ruining their tour. She refused, however, to shed any tears from the lonely feeling she was getting.

"Oh," Vivi whispered silently, a hand covering over her pained heart, which made her feel confused, and then she quickly looked up at Nami. She was in pain ...

Luffy clenched his heart as well. He really... It was becoming more unbearable. Damn it... why...? Even Sanji winced, slowly lifting an arm towards his Heart, and he frowned more deeply, but softly to Nami. "Nami-san," he whispered, gazing at the woman sadly.

"Well... shall we continue the tour?" Vivi asked quietly, looking up at Sanji.

"Of course," Sanji replied quietly, though he kept his eyes on Nami for a moment. If she did not wish to leave her spot, then he would leave her to her solitude. Offering the princess his arm, he then turned and continued the tour.

Luffy lingered behind, staring at Nami. He could not bring his feet to move, even though he wanted to. He wanted to get away from the pain he was feeling-No, the pain she was feeling.

Nami raised her chin to the air, knowing Luffy was still standing there, though she was staring after Vivi and Sanji. "You should finish your tour. You wouldn't want to disappoint your princess," she said in a quiet voice full of emotion.

He clenched his fist and ground his teeth harshly. "I told you," he said in a chocked voice. "She's not my princess." Then he hardened his heart and kept walking. However, he threw over his shoulder, "But maybe I want to make her mine."

Sucking in her breath, Nami's eyes widened, and her heart panged hard and painfully. This time, she couldn't stop the tears from seeping forth from behind her eyes. "Well... wouldn't that be nice for you..." she said, or at least she tried to. She felt as if she couldn't breathe, and her voice came out in just above a whisper.

Gasping, Vivi stopped where she was, a hand going to her heart again, and this time she felt tears burning her eyes. She even cried out to the intense pain. "Vivi-chan," Sanji called, looking worried, especially since he could feel the pain as well. He then quickly looked behind them towards Luffy and Nami.

"Yeah, it would," Luffy called, having heard Nami's breathless whisper, but his legs had stopped walking and began to shake, feeling weaker and weaker. However, he kept his back to her. He could not face her.

Nami felt her body begin to quiver, and she reached up to hug herself as the tears finally dripped down to her lap. "You idiot..." she whispered, the tears blurring her vision. She also could not help the drizzle, which began to fall over them lightly.

Vivi gasped and looked up quickly, blinking rapidly to the small rain drops. "Vivi-chan, come quick," Sanji said quietly as he took her hand and quickly led her to shelter, though they could still see where Luffy and Nami were.

Closing his eyes, Luffy tilted his head to the sky, allowing the tiny droplets to kiss his face. He could feel her heart's pain in each drop. Finally, not able to take it anymore, he spun around and walked back into the guild, heading straight for his room. He slammed his door closed, and flopped down on his bed, feeling melodramatic and hating himself for it. Tears stung his eyes, and he reached up to wipe them off. Bringing his arm down, he stared at his wet hand. Crying, over a girl... He never would have thought...

Vivi remained where she was for awhile, the pain still pulsing slightly within her heart, and then she looked up at Sanji. "Sanji-san? What happened?" she whispered, not wanting to disturb the poor orange haired woman.

"It's... complicated," Sanji said, quietly as well. "Nami-san feels betrayed by that idiot..." He had to debate, in telling what he knew, knowing that Luffy wasn't entirely at fault. Even though he hated the rubber mage, he was still an honest man.

"Betrayed? How? Why is she still here? I figured... she might have gone back. I was surprised, when Robin-san said she was still here," Vivi said, turning to him with a soft frown.

"The guild master, Luffy's grandfather, decided that she had to stay here to pay off her debt to the guild," Sanji said and growled in memory.

"But... I thought Luffy-san and Nami-san had an agreement already," Vivi said softly as she frowned deeper.

"Well..." Sanji started and sighed, "it wasn't enough for the master. He voided their arrangement, confiscated her share and forced her to work the debt off. It's meant to be a lesson not to cheat the guild, but of course..." Sanji scoffed softly, "Nami-san blamed the idiot..."

Vivi's expression softened then and even saddened as she lowered her head. "That's... That's not fair... I-I can tell that Luffy-san is a good man, but he already took Nami-san from her home and made her work. Why does she have to do more?"

"I... don't know," Sanji said and smiled grimly, his eyes sad. "She doesn't deserve it, but... there's nothing that any of us can do."

Her eyes saddened even further, and then she said, "And what's worse... their relationship was already so fragile. I-I did... want Luffy-san to notice me... but... I did realize just how much they... I mean, I just..." Sniffling softly, she then reached up to wipe at her eyes, and then she said, "I've made things worse... haven't I?"

Sanji pulled out a handkerchief, and handed it to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. He smiled kindly to her and said, "You did nothing wrong. You didn't know how things were between them."

"But still..." she cried softly, but still quietly, taking the handkerchief from him and burying her face in it. "I could feel it. She's hurting so much. I know it was her. It hurt... I can't imagine what she must be feeling. Hasn't anyone tried talking to them?"

"Nojiko-san has tried talking to Nami-san," Sanji said and sighed. "And I know that Luffy's brother has tried talking to him." Sanji shook his head. "Neither mentioned having any success, and as you can see, nothing has improved between them."

Vivi sighed softly then, sniffling again as she lowered her head once again, and then she said, tentatively, "I see... M-Maybe... I could try?" Though, that really didn't seem like a good idea at all. She then just sighed and said, "Nami-san hates me..."

"I..." Sanji shook his head, "I don't know if that will be a good idea. She has been closed to almost everyone besides her sister and Gen-san." He frowned sadly. "But... I'm certain that if you avoid talking about rubber boy, you could possibly be friends."

"Yes... I suppose so," Vivi replied quietly before sighing again, and then she looked up. The light drizzle had stopped, and looking over to where Nami was, she saw the woman had gone, causing her to sigh again. The pain had also completely faded from her heart. "Shall we continue then?" she said, looking out to the gardens yet explored and attempted a smile.

"Of course," Sanji said with a smile and offered his arm to her.

Smiling a bit wider, Vivi slipped her arm through his with a flush of her cheeks as they continued on.

x x x x

The next day, in the evening, they set up camp after having traveled during the day. Luffy was getting the fire lit, avoiding talking to everyone and just brooding. As Sanji prepared the food, he thought of how horrible the silence had been. He hated seeing Luffy and Nami arguing, but their silence, filled with mutual suffering, was even less bearable. He would give anything to hear the light-hearted bickering again, so long as the unbearable silence was broken.

Robin gave an uncharacteristic groan. That had been an incredibly long day, and the silence unsettled her. It was as if everyone was afraid to break the silence for reasons she was not aware of. She gave a sigh and decided to continue reading her book.

Nojiko stayed close to her sister, helping her set up for camp. She wanted to remain with her and let her know she was there for her. It broke her heart to see her sister this way, and it even break her heart to see the mage the way he was. Nami didn't even talk to her sister, not feeling up to maintaining any kind of conversation. She and Gen started setting up tents with the others. They had purchased an extra one for Gen, and Nami and Nojiko were to share one.

Vivi sighed, Igaram and Pell taking care of all the preparations for the night, and so she looked over towards the others, her face falling slightly. It had been so quiet, and so as not to hurt Nami any more than she already was, she had kept away from Luffy. However, she had ridden beside Sanji, so it wasn't so bad.

Zoro, set up his tent and then sat down to relax, closing his eyes for a before dinner nap. The silence was unsettling, but it did not really bother him. He quite liked the silence.

"Dinner's ready," Sanji said, once he'd finished preparing the meal, and the first to break the silence. Luffy was just sitting silently by the fire as the man had prepared their meal.

Already finished with the preparations for the night, they all went and gathered around the fire. Not wanting to be near Luffy, Nami sat on the other side of the fire with her sister and Gen, though her eyes strayed up to look at him.

Luffy looked up from his food, his eyes catching hers by chance, and so he quickly looked back down at his food. Nami quickly shifted her eyes away from his, her heart hitching from being caught, and then it began to pound as her cheeks flushed with warmth.

Vivi caught the exchange and frowned with a deep sigh. How was this supposed to be fixed? If it didn't get fixed by the time Luffy's grandfather decided to release Nami from her debt... then Nami would just go back home, and they would most likely never see each other again. This made her feel so incredibly sad. She knew that both would regret it, but would be too stubborn, even then, to fix it.

Nojiko picked at her food, glancing over at Nami. She'd tried talking to her, but the orange haired girl had been adamant in not wanting to talk about it. If only there was something she could do.

No longer being able to eat, Luffy blinked at his food, staring at it blankly. It was the first time ever, that he was suddenly just not hungry, and quite frankly, it shocked him. Nami attempted to eat, though lately her stomach seemed to be rejecting the idea, which always made her feel nauseous, but she knew she had to eat something.

Gen watched her as well with a soft frown before glancing over at Nojiko. The older girl had come to him many times during the past few days to rant and rave that Nami refused to talk to her, and she couldn't understand why. Nami had never kept anything from her sister, so he could understand the older girl's frustration. Quite honestly, he was also frustrated, because he hated seeing the girls in any kind of pain, seeing as he had seen it once before. He never wanted to see that kind of pain from them again...

Not being able to finish his meal, Luffy just gave up and set his half full plate down on the ground. "I'm going to bed," he muttered and then stood up to go to his tent.

However, only one person sent him off. "Good night... Luffy-san," Vivi said quietly, frowning softly after him and feeling bad that no one seemed to be on talking terms with the young man or cared to send him off for the night. He was completely alone here.

Nami swallowed hard, watching him leave and feeling a slight pang that no one seemed to really pay him any mind. He might as well have not even been there. Lowering her head then quickly, she tried not to think about it.

Luffy paid it no mind that no one said good night besides Vivi. He climbed into his sleeping bag and closed his eyes, the loneliness among a group of people wasn't something he was used to. Oh well... He would adjust.

Nami quickly stood after a moment, not being able to help it any longer. "I'm going to bed ..." she said quickly and quietly and moved off towards her tent, disappearing inside. She plopped down on her blankets, tears sliding from her eyes, but she also had to make sure she didn't rain on the others with her sadness. It was a bit of a hassle having developed magical abilities, when they were so tied in with emotions.

As everyone was getting ready for bed, Merry glanced over at the Palomino. The palomino snorted softly as she looked over to him, her hoof gently digging into the ground a bit as she nodded her head, and then she moved over a little closer towards him. It was as if she held a smile on her face.

Robin yawned and stood up. "I think I will also head to bed."

Sanji nodded and said, "Good night, Robin-chan. I'll help keep first watch."

"Mm... I'm quite tired from the ride. Good night, everyone," Vivi said, smiling at them all.

"Good night ..." Gen said before disappearing into his own tent.

Zoro was already snoring away, but would later move into his tent.

Nojiko stood up. "Same here. Goodnight, everyone."

There was an utterances of good nights before all but the night shift had fallen asleep for the night.

x x x x

When Luffy got up the next day, he noticed something was off. He looked around but no luck. "Hey..." he said to no one in specific, "what happened to my horse... es?" He added after looking around again.

Vivi blinked, looking about as well, but didn't see the white horse or the palomino anywhere. Frowning deeply, Nami turned in a slow circle, feeling a bit worried. "Merry?" she questioned quietly and frowning deeper that the palomino was missing as well. "Where...?"

"Hum," Robin smiled. "How very mysterious."

Nami hummed as well, still frowning deeply as she looked over at Luffy, not being able to help herself. She found that happening quite a bit. Her eyes kept wanting to shift towards him, if he were in the area. Flushing a bit, she forced herself to look away quickly before he caught her again and walked off towards the fire.

"I'm going to go look for them," Luffy said, worried about his horses. He wandered off, trying to find Merry and the palomino.

Nami looked back over to him as she watched him disappear into the forest, but no one said anything to him. Sanji looked up from the fire, where he was preparing breakfast. "Good morning, Nami-swan," he said in his usual cheerful manner.

"Good morning..." she muttered and sat by the fire with the others.

Nojiko smiled up at her sister and asked, "Sleep well?"

No. "I slept fine... What about you?" Nami asked and gave her a blank smile, which the older woman did not fail to notice, nor did she fail to notice the lie.

However, she just shrugged and said, "Very well, actually." Actually, she'd been up most of the night worrying about her sister.

"That's good... I'm glad..." Nami felt horrible, because she knew her sister was lying, just as she was sure Nojiko knew that she was lying.

"Yeah..." Nojiko said and gave Nami a wry smile.

Sanji looked up from the cooking fire. "Breakfast's almost ready? Where'd that shithead go?"

"To look for the horses. They're missing ," Nami replied quietly as she looked down towards the ground, and everyone was surprised she was the one, who replied to him.

Gen came to sit down beside Nami and turned to her with a frown. "You're not going to help look? Horse seems important to you."

"But he's not my horse. His _master_ can look for him," she almost whispered, keeping her eyes on the ground.

"But you still care for him, don't you?" Nojiko asked, staring at Nami intently. She had not specified who he was.

"Yes..." Nami whispered, slowly and almost accurately, which made Nojiko smile, but she quickly dropped it, not wanting her sister to see it, "but I know Merry wouldn't leave just to leave. He'll be back. Probably wanted an excuse to be away from... us," she muttered quietly as she softly kicked the dirt.

"When we're being such a cheery bunch?" Nojiko muttered, so that no one could hear her.

However, Nami did, and so she pouted her lips, but refused to look up at her sister. They didn't have to let her mood affect them in any way.

"Look what we have here, boys," a man whispered from within a tree as he watched the group bellow, mill about.

"I heard there's a princess in the group. Not only can we take what they have, but then we can hold the little chit for ransom."

"Then let's get to it, boys."

A few cries sounded as men began to fill the camp and kill anyone who wasn't prepared for an attack. Zoro quickly jumped to his feet, his swords quickly drawn to fight off the group of men. Crying out, Nami quickly stood and blocked off her sister and Vivi, who were near each other. Sanji jumped up, before the three women, knocking the men away with his legs and fire blasts. Men tried to attack Robin, but anyone that came to close to her had their backs and necks snapped by arms growing out of their bodies.

A large man stepped out from the woods with an equally large smile, looking over and spotting the women. "Well, well, well..." he said in a booming voice and a smirk. "Looks like you've made my job easier by sticking together."

Gasping, Nami looked over to the voice before quickly darting her gaze to either side of her. Where was Luffy? Then she looked back at the man who was knocking everyone out of his way as he made his way to them. Beginning to pant heavily, Nami brought her fingers to her lips and muttered an incantation, "Lightning Tempo!" she cried before striking her arm and fingers down towards him, and a large bolt of lightning came down over his head.

He screamed quite loudly in his pain, but when the smoke cleared, he was still standing and glaring at Nami. "Why you little bitch! That really hurt!" he growled in anger and lifted an arm against her.

Gasping loudly, Nami quickly shoved Vivi and her sister aside. "Get down!" she yelled, but then turned back to the man just as a large energy blast was shot out from his hand and coming right at her. Her eyes widened and her skin paled in her sudden panic and fear. She then began to drop at an attempt to lessen the damage. The hooded figure in the trees frowned deeply as she quickly made her way towards the camp. That imbecile was going to kill her prey.

Luffy suddenly appeared in front of Nami, his arms crossed in front of him. He knew there was a large possibility he would not survive this, but he did not care, as long as she was safe. Maybe it was better this way anyway.

Gasping, Nami's eyes widened further as she stared at Luffy, everything seeming to slow down as her heart slammed hard in her chest before pounding relentlessly. "Luffy!" she screamed, tears coming to her eyes as she stepped up to him.

Then suddenly, Merry was there, appearing out of nowhere, placing himself between Luffy, Nami and the energy attack. There was the sickening crunch of spine and ribs breaking, but Merry tried to hold his ground, but was inevitably blown back. He slammed into Luffy, since he was so close and both went flying back over Nami's head.

Nojiko gasped, her eyes widening. It had all happened so suddenly... If she had blinked, she would have missed the whole thing.

Nami screamed in horror, but dropped her head down just before it happened and covered it. She felt a blinding pain as she was broadsided by them, but they both toppled over her. The energy attack was so powerful; she could feel it. Groaning with her vision blurry, Nami sat up, trying to blink her eyes, but tears were already coming to them. Both Merry and Luffy were completely motionless. "Luffy! Merry!" she screamed, her voice sounding pained as a sob was released.

Luffy groaned, clawing at the earth as he turned his head towards Nami. "N.. Nami..."

"Luffy!" she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks in some relief that he was okay, but then she turned to Merry as her expression changed. "Merry!" she cried, but then gasped, her eyes wide in horror to what she saw. The image of the once precious horse was so horrific and unrecognizable, it made her instantly nauseous. "No..." she whispered, larger tears instantly springing to her eyes. "No!" she called more loudly. "_No_!" she screamed and broke into sobs. "_Me-rry_!" she screamed painfully at the top of her lungs, but then she cried out as a pair of arms grabbed her. "_No_!"

"Nami!" Nojiko shrieked as she scrambled to her feet towards her sister, but the person backhanded her across the face.

"N... Nami," Luffy called again and attempted to crawl towards her, but he was still so disoriented.

"No! Let me go! Luffy!" she cried, struggling against their arms, but she was thrown onto a horse as someone mounted behind her and took off into the forest. "_No_! _Let go_!" she screamed, but then looked back as they got further and further away. She could still see Luffy trying to crawl towards her, but then her vision blurred with more tears.

_"Lu-ffy_!"

**To Be Continued...**

**Authors' Note:**

Con: Mwahahaha, hate us yet? xD

Darth: Truly we are, mwaha, evil.

Con: Yes, mwahaha, evil! So very evil!

Darth: Mwuhuhuhu.

Con: Ah, wait... ._. That's mwuhuhuhu... not mwhahaha... ._. *So confused* Well, setting that aside... Yes, we went and did the evil deed... No, not that deed... We done did it. We killed the magical horse, Merry, yes we did, and then Nami was kidnapped... Oh dear... MWAHAHAHAHA! ... Wait... I'm sad... ;~;

Darth: Oh, I made myself sad now.

Con: Me too... I'm so... so sad... ;~; Merrrrryyyy~~~~! TT~TT

Darth: Wait, now I feel better!

Con: Better? D:

Darth: Somehow...

Con: Huh... o.o Well, we hope you guys enjoyed this incredibly sad and emotional chapter... Mwahahaha!

Darth: Emotions are for the weak.

Con: Indeed... Mwahaha!

Darth: Mwuhuhehehee!

Con: XD!


	20. Chapter 20: He Loses Control

**Authors' Notes:**

Con: All right, guys! :-D This one is another favorite chapter of mine, and I worked really hard on it. So, I hope you guys like it! :-D

Darth: Indeed.

Con: Indeed? o.o That's all you got. You read it, right? -.-

Darth: …yes. Yes I did. :P

Con: :-P Hehehe! Well, I had fun writing it. ^^ So, I think they will enjoy it. They had better review and tell me! D:

Darth: I have a swollen tastebud.

Con: Say, huh? o.o

Darth: It's annoying.

Con: I'm... sorry? o.o

Darth: Indeed.

Con: Hahaha! Well, we hope you enjoy this chapter! :-D Read on, minions!

Darth: Indeed.

P.S. from Con: All right so, a lot of this chapter was written by just me. When we RPed it, we just kind of rushed through it and it turned out really anti-climactic. So, I had to beef it up a bit. You know me, I love music, and so I shall share with you the song, which inspired the idea for what you're about to read. The song is, The Jezabels - Endless Summer. You're welcome to listen to it as you read. Anyways, enjoy. :)

**Charmed**

**Chapter 20: He Loses Control**

Watching as the riders disappeared with Nami, Luffy scowled, his vision blurring in and out. Trying to push himself back up, he collapsed back to the ground and growled. Gritting his teeth, he managed to get off the ground to stand, but on wobbling legs. He took a step forward, but stumbled, and then he cried, "Nami!"

"Nami!" Nojiko cried and tried to run after her sister, but was blocked by Sanji.

"Stay here," Sanji said and ran after the kidnappers.

"Oh, no! Nami-san!" Vivi cried as the bandits all retreated after Zoro had taken down the large man, who'd attacked at Nami.

"Those people that took Nami. They weren't with these bandits," Zoro said, coming over towards Luffy, who looked as if he was about to collapse at any moment.

"Damn it!" Sanji cried and downed another bandit, but the other group had gotten away with Nami.

"What?" Luffy said and looked over to Zoro, but gasped as his knees buckled.

Zoro quickly reached out, catching the mage before he hit the ground. He was in no condition to go after the girl. Even if the horse had taken the brunt of the attack, which he was surprised the horse had used himself as a sacrifice to protect them, Luffy still took a lot of damage, especially with the horse crashing into him. "They looked completely different from this bunch," he said, nodding to the bandits and then frowning down at Luffy. "They had a different feel about them too. I think their target may have just been Nami."

"Nami," Luffy muttered and clamped his eyes closed. It was his fault...

"They were probably after her ability," Robin said, stepping over the downed body of a bandit. She walked up to Zoro, who was supporting Luffy.

"Her ability?" Vivi asked, turning to Robin.

"What do you mean her ability!?" Gen bellowed, coming up behind them, a bloody sword in hand. He glanced down at Luffy with a soft frown before looking back up at the woman.

"That was my thought too. Her ability is unique. I wouldn't be surprised if they'd been watching her for the past few days," Zoro said, frowning a bit deeper as he looked over at Robin.

"Those bastards," Sanji scoffed. "How do they even expect to use it if no one knows what it is?"

"Actually," Robin said, looking thoughtful, "that isn't entirely true."

"It's not!? What do you know!?" Gen said, very agitated and worried that Nami was taken from them twice already. "That poor girl has had enough happen to her in her short life. Couldn't it all just stop already!? What is it about her that they want!?" he continued, sighing deeply before dropping down to the ground on his knees, feeling old and tired as he brought his hands to his head. "First her mother... then Arlong... and now all of this!"

Luffy stared at the ground, refusing to meet anyone's gaze. All his fault... It was all his fault... She was suffering, and no one was to blame, except him.

Robin looked expressionless at Gen and explained, "When I was reading in the library, I came across several mentions of heart based magic. Incredibly powerful magic... and quite frightening. The Charmed Heart."

"Heart based? Charmed Heart?" Gen asked, looking up at her. "What do you mean? Frightening?"

"I'm not entirely sure how it works. It's extremely rare magic," Robin said and shrugged, "but from what I learned, it was originally meant to work as a protection enchantment. I also only know it's very old magic, near the beginning of all mages, even."

"Then how is it working to help me sleep?" Luffy asked, looking up at Robin intently.

"I don't know yet," Robin said and shook her head. "Both are old magic, so perhaps the one counteracts the other?"

"Old magic?" Gen asked, looking confused. "How would Nami have gotten a hold of old magic? She didn't even know she could _use_ magic."

"That I don't know either," Robin said with a soft sigh. "It's possible it was something she inherited." She looked at Nojiko, cocking an eyebrow at her.

Nojiko blinked, but then she said, "Oh, no... I wouldn't have inherited anything..."

Gen sighed softly and said, "Nami and Nojiko aren't really sisters. They were adopted by the same woman. As a matter of fact... Nami's real parents are a complete mystery. Bellemere... the woman who took them in, found them both in a village that was being burned to the ground by bandits. She was part of a brigade working to protect it. We have no idea who their real family is. There's a chance her real parents may have been mages then."

Robin nodded, looking more in thought, and then she said, "It's very possible, and they might even have been something else entirely..." She trailed off in thought. There was a mystery here; one she intended to solve.

"Anyways, the important thing to do is find out where they took her," Gen said, attempting to stand on his weary legs. "We don't know what they intend to do. However," he started, looking over at Luffy, "he can't really go in that condition."

"I'm fine," Luffy said, standing up on his own. "I just need-" He gasped and quickly looked around for Merry, but then spotted the horse's body. Tears instantly welled up in his eyes. "No," he whispered, staggering towards the horse. "No! No, no, no! Merry!" he cried, dropping to his knees beside the animal, and his eyes widened with horror. He reached out a hand, but retracted it as the large tears fell. "N-o," he whispered and dropped his head. "Merry..." he whispered and choked on the sobs that pushed to escape. He'd loved his horse, and they had been through so much together, since the moment Merry was given to him as a colt. He ground his teeth hard, feeling the anger as well as grief rising, and he began to growl deep in his throat from the pain, but then it exploded from him. "_Merry_!" he screamed tearfully, the pain of it causing his voice to quiver. "You stupid horse... Why'd you do that, huh?" he cried, but then he suddenly moved to the horse's head and pressed his own forehead to his. "Why'd you do that?" he whispered as more sobs escaped him.

Tears came to Nojiko's eyes as she watched the mage, his shoulders shaking with his clearly heard sobs. A few tears welled up in everyone's eyes to the heart broken mage. Sanji slowly took a puff of his cigarette and blew out the smoke, and then he sighed. He felt bad for the mage. He knew the horse was one of his closest friends, and he also knew the horse meant a great deal to Nami.

"Oh, Luffy-san," Vivi whispered and moved to kneel beside him. "I'm so sorry..." Reaching out, she pressed her hand to his back to try and offer some comfort.

Suddenly, Luffy pulled back and kissed the horse's forehead. "I'm so sorry, Merry... Good bye, my friend," he whispered with a sniffle, but then he staggered to his feet. "Have to get Nami back..."

Gen sighed deeply as he looked to the mage, and then he said, "I would only get in the way... We'll take care of your horse and make sure he gets back to the guild..."

Luffy nodded and looked to the man gratefully as he wiped away his tears. "Thank you. They'll know what to do with Merry," he said and stumbled back towards them.

"I would like to go back as well. I, too, would only get in the way. We can wait to get back home until Nami-san is found," Vivi said, looking over to Pell and Igaram, and both men nodded their agreement.

Nojiko nodded as well, and then looked at Luffy. "Bring my sister back, please. We'll take the best of care with Merry," she said and offered Luffy a sad smile.

Luffy nodded and said, "I will, I promise. Thank you."

Gen hummed into a rough growl as he closed his eyes, but then he nodded, knowing that Luffy would do as he said he would. Then he turned towards Merry and blinked. The palomino was suddenly there, as if appearing out of nowhere, and was nuzzling Merry's neck. After a moment, she raised her head, staring down at Merry for awhile longer, as if giving her moment of grief, and then she trotted over to Luffy, giving him a nudge.

Luffy reached up and patted the palomino on the nose. "Thank you..." he whispered to her and pressed his forehead to hers.

The palomino nodded her head and waited for him to mount. The orange haired girl was special to Merry, that she knew, and she would honor his sacrifice by helping to bring the girl back safely in any way she could. Luffy then moved around her and swung into her saddle with little trouble.

"I'm coming with you," Zoro said, already mounting his horse.

"I, as well, am coming," Sanji said and quickly made his way to his horse.

"I, too, will come," Robin said as she mounted hers.

Sanji climbed onto his horse. "I can probably track them-"

"I know where they're going," Luffy said, gazing out where they had gone and cutting off Sanji's words.

Robin glanced over at Luffy, smiling. Power of love, indeed.

"Eh? You do?" Zoro asked, quirking an interested brow at him.

Luffy nodded curtly. "Yeah," he whispered, and then he urged the palomino to go. "Let's hurry after them."

"Mm, okay. Right," Zoro said, blinking after Luffy before following him, and then the others followed as well.

x x x x

Nami struggled against her captors as they rode through the gates and into a courtyard of an old almost worn out castle on the edge of a cliff. "Stop! Let go of me!" she cried, but she was ignored.

"Hurry it up! I want to get this over with! They couldn't possibly find us, since the others took another path to throw them off, but I don't want to take any chances!" a woman said as she swung off her horse and threw back her cloak over her shoulder to reveal skin tight leather pants as well as a bodice, similar to Nami's only in black. However, she wore a crisp white and frilled shirt underneath the bodice and black leather high heeled boots to match.

"Of course, Alvida-sama!" the men said, pulling Nami from the horse and dragging her inside.

"Let go of me!" Nami screamed, still crying quite heavily. Each person was drenched from the sudden downpour that seemed to follow them the entire way, which had started a few minutes after they had left the camp. "Merry..." Nami whispered with a gasp. Her precious friend. He was gone...

"Let's go! Get her up those stairs!" Alvida continued to command as she threw a pair of double doors open into the castle and swept up the stairs.

"Yes, Alvida-sama!"

"Coby! Get my dagger and my book!" she yelled into the run down castle.

"Y-Yes, Alvida-sama!" a boy with pink hair cried as he scampered off, having been startled by their sudden return.

Walking briskly down a corridor with the railing on her other side to the first level below and her men dragging Nami behind them, Alvida stopped at another set of double doors and shoved them open. "Come on, get her onto that altar and lock her down!"

"Yes, Alvida-sama!" the men cried, dragging Nami along the marble floor.

"I said, let go of me!" Nami screamed, but she was again ignored as they dragged her up the few marble steps towards the altar. They then grabbed her, slamming her onto the altar and began shackling her wrists and ankles. "What are you doing!?"

Alvida sauntered over to her casually with a smile, her hips swaying as she walked. "Such a beautiful girl, you are," she said, running her sleek finger along Nami's cheek, but Nami turned her head away from her.

"Don't touch me!" she snapped and then turned a scowl to her through her tears. "What do you want with me?" she asked and glared at the equally beautiful woman.

"That should be obvious, my girl," Alvida said, but then she lifted her fingers and began muttering an incantation. Nami began to frown, when a spherical bubble began to form around them.

"Wha-What are you doing?" Nami asked, looking at the bubble grow, which covered a good part of the room around them, and then it suddenly vanished, or perhaps it was now just invisible.

"Ah, I've brought your book and the dagger, Alvida-sama!" Coby cried as he came running up to the barrier.

Once the barrier was complete, Alvida turned, heading to Coby and took the book, as well as the dagger from him. "Thank you, Coby. Such a loyal boy," she said and smiled to him, but then she turned back to Nami.

"Y-You're welcome, Alvida-sama," Coby said and laughed nervously, but then he frowned, once she turned her back. What was she going to do to that girl?

Alvida approached Nami and opened up the book to read. She then smiled with a chuckle as she again looked down at Nami. "It took a long time to finally find you, little girl. I've waited for this day for a long time," she whispered down to Nami, but then she held her hand over Nami, and began whispered more incantations.

Nami began to pant as her fear grew, and soon, she felt herself growing weaker. Tears came to her eyes as her head lulled to the side. "Luffy," she whispered, her heart panging painfully. Was this really it? Was she going to die?

"Such a strong heart," Alvida whispered, having felt the pang. "Yesss," she hissed and smiled wider. "This is perfect..."

"Please, what are you doing?" Nami whispered, feeling weaker and weaker.

Alvida chuckled and opened her eyes to look down at Nami. "I suppose I owe you that much, for what you're about to give me. You know nothing about your true power, do you?"

Blinking in confusion, Nami shook her head and whispered, "What are you talking about? What true power?"

"The power of your heart, girl. The Charmed Heart. You don't understand it, and you don't know its potential," she said and smiled wider. "The power to control, girl. With your heart, I will have even more power."

Nami's eyes grew wider, and she gasped. "With my heart?" she whispered, feeling the fear rising, and then her eyes shifted to the dagger.

"That's right, girl. I'm going to take your heart," Alvida said and chuckled deeply within her throat.

"No," Nami whispered and shook her head. "No!" she cried, turning her head to look at the doors. "Luffy, please..."

x x x x

Luffy's group managed to make it to the castle, and Luffy sped up, making a straight line for the gates. Robin looked down at the wet grass, and the heavy rain clouds ahead. "Well," she said, "following them hasn't been very hard."

"Did they just not realize she was responsible for the rain, or maybe not care?" Zoro said, looking at all of the wet ground and clouds ahead.

"Most likely they did not care to realize," Robin said and looked up towards the large castle. "People with castles have a tendency to underestimate smaller enemies. Not to mention, they tried to confuse us with a second trail, since they did not realize she was responsible for the rain."

"Hmm... Well, either way, let's just get this started," Zoro said, dismounting from his horse.

A few men spotted the mages below and began hurling fireballs down at them. "Don't let them get inside!"

"Damn!" Zoro muttered viciously as he pulled out his swords to help deflect the fireballs.

Luffy bit into his thumb and inflated his arm to giant size. He smashed into the men on the parapets, and then pulled himself up onto them. Once on top, he inflated his leg and pulled it up. He smashed it down on the top of the gates, smashing the whole gates into the ground and making a large gap in the castle gate walls.

"Nice," Zoro said before mounting his horse again to keep heading inside towards the castle. Though the climb over the rubble wasn't easy.

Sanji whistled. Now he wasn't sure he even wanted to fight the grandson, let alone the guild master. Luffy really was powerful, and now that he was on a serious mission, even more so. Robin smiled, and led her horse through the rubble of the now open gates.

Alvida gasped, hearing the destruction of the gate as well as the cries that followed. It had caused the entire castle to rumble with the vibration. "No," she whispered, her eyes wide. How did they find them so quickly?

Nami turned her head to the sound of the destruction, and then she smiled weakly. "Luffy," she whispered, tears once again pooling in her eyes, and her heart panged. He really had come for her.

Luffy jumped down from the walls and started running deeper into the fortress. The palomino appeared beside him, running along with him. Without either stopping, Luffy grabbed the reins and swung into the saddle. He ignored the pang in his heart and urged the palomino to speed up. Nami... Please, let him make it in time.

There were several men standing ahead of them, but Luffy barreled into them, knocking many of them aside. However, those still standing lobbed their magic at him, fireballs, electricity and even ice. One of them managed to knock Luffy off the palomino. Luffy cried out as he flew through the air and landed on his back with a grunt. "Damn it!" he growled, struggling to stand up again. His eyes then began to glow the brilliant light blue as he brought up his palm. "_Get out of my way_!" he screamed and shot a beam towards his enemies.

Zoro slipped off his horse beside Luffy and removed his swords to help him to dispose of the mages that blocked their way in. Sanji also swung off his horse and immediately threw himself at the mages. Twirling on his leg, it caught on fire, and then he jump kicked a mage, setting the man on fire.

"Clutch!" Robin cried, doing her part to help out.

"I must hurry then," Alvida said and turned back to Nami. "You're almost ready. Our hearts are nearly linked..."

"No, please," Nami pleaded as tears streamed down her temple and nose.

After defeating all the mages outside, they then headed inside and began taking all of them out as well. Alvida growled, hearing the voices and cries now inside. She quickly turned to Nami and said, "No matter... These mages don't stand a chance against me, and they most certainly won't once I take your heart."

"C-Can't have... my heart..." Nami whispered, feeling even weaker and her vision was beginning to blur.

Once all the men were defeated inside, only one was left standing, or rather, he was cowering behind a tapestry. Luffy stormed up to the pink haired boy and grabbed the front of his shirt. "Nami! Where is she!?" he yelled and shook the frightened boy.

"Eee!" he squealed, throwing his arms over his face. "Y-You can't! A-Alvida-sama is strong! She would kill all of you!"

Luffy pulled him up to his face and seethed, threateningly, "And if you don't tell me where she is, _I'm_ going to kill _you_! Now tell me! Where is she?"

The poor boy paled of all color and looked almost sick with his terror. "P-Please... I... I don't even want to be here," he said, stuttering in his fear. "I'll show you," he said, his eyes shifting to the exit. Maybe he could make a run for it after they go for the girl.

Luffy set him on the ground and said, "Show me!"

"O-Okay! Th-This way!" Coby cried, turning and running deeper into the castle and up the stairs.

"Yes," Alvida suddenly whispered, "I can feel it ... The enchantment of the Charmed Heart! I never thought I would come to this point! This enchantment is so rare... I consider myself lucky to have found you, girl," she said, smirking down at Nami.

Luffy ran after the pink haired boy up the stairs. "How much further?" he yelled impatiently.

"Not too far! It's just up here!" he said, coming up to the landing and turning again. "Through those doors way at the other end!" he said, pointing down a long corridor. "You better hurry! She intends on killing her!"

"All I have to do... is carve out your heart with this enchanted dagger, which preserves every last bit of the magic within your heart, and your power is all mine. Just a few more things I would need to do. I would just need to transfer the power from your heart into a small item... and then I'll wear it, like a necklace," Alvida said, chuckling deeply as she lowered the dagger over Nami's chest. "So close..."

Luffy ran down the hall, Zoro, Robin and Sanji following closely behind. He burst through the doors, barreling into the room. As soon as they burst through, an onslaught of men came running at them. "Don't let them disturb Alvida-sama's ritual!" one of them cried as they threw all sorts of magic at them.

Seeing Luffy and the others burst through the door made more tears form and fall down Nami's temple in her relief. "Luffy," she whispered, wanting to reach out for him, but she could not.

Alvida turned to scowl, surprised they had made it so far so quickly. These were no ordinary mages. "Get them! Don't let them through! I'm so close!" she cried, before turning back to Nami. She muttered a few more words before raising the dagger just over Nami's heart once again.

Seeing this, Luffy jumped high, over the attacking mages, before splatting against an invisible force field, and sliding to the ground. "What the hell are you doing?" Sanji yelled at him.

"There's a shield around them!" Zoro yelled with a scowl, seeing that the woman was about to end Nami's life already. How the hell were they supposed to save her?

Nami's eyes followed Luffy, only being able to move her fingers towards him, since her wrists were bound. "Luffy..."

Luffy stood up, his aura seeping out ominously. Without looking up, he grabbed the force field and pulled it like fabric, which started ripping open.

Gasping, Alvida quickly turned to him and cried, "Impossible! This shield is invincible! No one is supposed to break through it! It's old and powerful magic!"

Nami's lips slowly and barely curved into a smile as she watched him, feeling her heart swelling, and though it hurt, it still felt good. "Luffy," she called again, a bit louder, still holding her fingers out towards him.

Luffy looked up at Nami and smiled, feeling the change in her heart within his own. He stepped through the force field, and it closed right behind him. He strode up to the altar Nami was bound to, glaring at the black haired woman and yelled, "Let her go!"

"Not so fast, boy," Alvida said and held up her hand.

Luffy gasped and halted immediately. A sweat instantly formed over his brow, and then he grunted with a growl. "Ngh!" he exclaimed and fell to his knees, breathing heavily and deeply.

"No, Luffy," Nami whispered, looking very worried as she continued to try reaching out to him.

"Oooh, such a heart," Alvida whispered as she slowly approached Luffy. She then knelt down before him and pressed her hand into his hard chest. "What have we here?" she whispered and smiled up at him.

"Ngh-Aaah!" Luffy cried and threw his head back to the intense pain in his chest.

"Luffy!" Zoro cried and ran towards the barrier after the other mages were dealt with.

"Oi, Luffy! What are you doing?" Sanji exclaimed as he slammed his palms into the barrier.

Alvida clicked her tongue and shook her hand. "So much... pain... anguish... sadness... and torment... So much agony... So much guilt... Why does your heart hurt so, boy? Why is your heart so... weak?" she said, much louder for everyone to hear.

Nami's face fell, and tears began to fall. Pain, anguish, sadness...? Was that what Luffy was really feeling? "Luffy," she called with a gasp as her tears worsened.

Luffy continued to scream in the pain he was feeling, the screams themselves, agonizing to hear. Soon, the screams stopped, but it turned to grunts and growls, and he panted heavily and loudly. However, soon, those stopped as well, and his head lulled forward. "That's a good boy," Alvida whispered and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "Now... stand up," she said to his ear, and then she stood up to back away from him.

Very slowly, one foot after the other, Luffy stood up, but did not move from his spot. "What the... fuck?" Zoro whispered, his brows dipping deeply, but his eyes widening.

"O-Oi... L-Luffy," Sanji called, also frowning deeply.

"Oh dear," Robin said beside them and pressed a hand to her cheek.

"What? What's going on?" Zoro asked, now frowning to the woman.

"I do believe... she's taken control of him," Robin said, though she looked curiously at the woman.

"What!?" Sanji exclaimed and began to scowl. He then looked in at Luffy and yelled, "Oi! You stupid rubber loser! How could you let yourself get taken over!?"

"Why, it was quite easy," Alvida said in reply for him and chuckled as she stepped up to Luffy, who's eyes were closed. "His heart was in such disarray... weakened by his pain. Such a handsome boy, too. Was it this girl, who caused you so much pain? I'll protect you from her. No more, will you ever feel that pain. No more, will you ever suffer. I promise, I will take such good care of you... forever." Alvida moved to Luffy's other side, pressing herself into him, and then she said, "Look at her, my love."

Very slowly, Luffy opened his eyes, and both were shining the bright, brilliant light blue color. He then blinked his eyes slowly and trailed them over to Nami.

"Luffy," Nami whispered, the tears never ending, though her face wrenched with pain.

"O-Oi!" Zoro called and slammed his fist into the barrier.

"Snap out of it, you rubber idiot!" Sanji yelled, also slamming his fist into the barrier.

"Just look at her... She caused you this pain... this anguish... It's all her fault. Together, we will put an end to her, and then you and I will be happy together. Together... you and I will take over this world. Such a strong power you have. You are my most successful catch. Did you know that? Those other mages were nothing compared to you. You are magnificent," Alvida whispered, trailing her fingers along his jaw and to the other side. Leaning towards him, she then pressed her lips to his cheek, letting them linger there.

"S-Stop," Nami whispered weakly, feeling a heat coursing through her as she stared into his dull, yet bright eyes. "Please... Luffy..."

"You'll stay with me forever, won't you my love?" Alvida whispered to his ear, and very slowly, Luffy nodded his head.

"No!" Nami cried more forcefully, even if weakly. "Luffy... don't!"

"That's my good boy," Alvida said and smiled as she chuckled deeply. "Let's end her together..." Again, he slowly nodded. She then slowly guided him up the steps towards the altar.

"No!" Nami cried, the sobs beginning to wrench through her body.

Lifting the hand holding the dagger, Alvida looked up at Luffy and said, "Take my hand, my love." Slowly, Luffy reached up to cover her hand with his, and then Alvida directed the blade towards Nami's heart.

"No, stop!" Nami cried as she gasped through her tears.

"Oi, you shitty rubber mage!" Sanji yelled as he and Zoro began slamming their fists harder into the barrier.

Zoro then grabbed his swords, muttering incantations under his breath, and then he yelled, "Move!" Before Sanji was barely clear, he began slashing at the barrier, trying to cut through it.

Alvida hissed and turned quickly towards the other troublesome mages. Pulling the knife away, she turned to them and said, "First things first... Get rid of them for me, my love, and then you and I shall take her heart together!"

Luffy slowly turned towards the three, his eyes glowing brighter, and his aura ignited. He then took slow steps towards them, at first, but then he slowly broke into a run towards them.

"Shit!" Zoro exclaimed as they all jumped away from the barrier as Luffy leapt out of it at them.

Muttering incantations in a monotone voice, Luffy's skin began to shine red, and then he suddenly disappeared. When he appeared again, he was in front of Zoro, and then he slammed his fists into Zoro's chest, sending him straight through a wall.

Zoro cried out as he flew through the wall, over Coby's head, who screamed, and straight over the rail to the first floor below. "Oi, moss head!" Sanji cried, but then scowled as he faced Luffy again. "You son of a bitch," he growled, but then twirled on his leg, which caught on fire. He then leapt towards Luffy and threw a kick, but the rubber mage brought up his arms to block it, the flames seeming to not even affect him. Grabbing Sanji's leg, Luffy twirled around and threw the blonde away from him.

Sanji landed in a crouch and slid across the slick marble. Once he came to a stop, he ran at Luffy again to attack him. However, Luffy leapt up and dealt his own quick kick, his leg stretching to do so. His leg slammed into Sanji, but kept pushing until Sanji finally went flying to the side. He landed hard on his side and went rolling across the floor.

Robin muttered under her breath, and limbs grew out of Luffy, grabbing him. "Clutch!" she cried, and bent the young mage backwards. However, his body only stretched out.

Head snapping over to the woman, the glow in his eyes once again intensified, and he broke out of her hold. He then slowly made his way to her, and Robin took steps back away from him with a gasp. He then broke into a run, and then vanished, causing her to gasp much louder.

Luffy appeared before her and threw a punch, but a body was suddenly before her. The backs of three swords came up just in time to block the rubber mage's attack against Robin. Zoro's eyes were intense as he stared up into the dull glowing eyes, and he gave a growl as he tried to hold the swords in place, but the sharp edges of the blades were straining towards his own face. The mage's attacks were nothing to joke about. They were powerful, and Zoro knew he had more up his sleeve. What was worse, was that the boy was injured. He was grateful they did not have to go up against him at full strength. Either way, they would use his weakened state to their advantage, and hopefully, they could take him down without severely hurting him.

"Snap... the fuck... out of it already... you son of a bitch..." Zoro growled between the handle of his sword between his teeth. "Don't let... that bitch... win..."

"Isn't this beautiful, girl?" Alvida said as she watched Luffy, and her tongue came out to flick across her lower plump lip. The boy was absolutely delicious, and she could not wait to taste that power.

"Please... don't do this... to him..." Nami whispered, feeling her heart beginning to shatter further, and the tears were now soaking her hair. Outside, dark clouds circulated above and thunder rumbled. Droplets began to tap on the windows, and soon a torrential rain began to fall with strong winds blowing.

"You did this to him, girl. It's your fault," Alvida said and chuckled as she turned to face Nami. She then made her way over to her and said, "You caused his suffering."

Nami slowly shook her head and whispered, "No... I... I didn't... His own... damn... fault..."

Alvida threw her head back with laughter and said, "You stupid, stubborn girl! You don't deserve a boy like him, but don't worry. I will take such good care of him for you."

Nami ground her teeth together, and outside, a flash of lightning cracked across the window, causing a loud boom of thunder soon after. "How... How have you done this?"

Alvida chuckled as she leaned over Nami, pressing her palms on either side of her head, her black wavy hair falling around them like a curtain, and then she said, "Isn't it obvious, girl?" Her lips curved into a wide smirk, and then she whispered, "I have the same exact power as you."

Nami's eyes pulsed and then widened. "What?" she whispered, looking shocked to hear this.

"That's right... The Charmed Heart... passed down through generations of women... So few have it... but I discovered I had it years ago. I learned of its great power and the wonderful potential of it. I soon realized what I could do. I could control men to do my bidding. I could make them do anything, and they were _willing_ to _do_ anything for me. My power grew, and soon, I was even able to control mages. It was so easy. With your heart, I will be able to control the most powerful mages in the world, and then it will all be mine," Alvida whispered, and then she broke into chuckles, which soon turned to laughter. "I can't wait!"

Both Zoro and Sanji panted heavily as they faced off with the young rubber mage. Both were bloodied and beaten, and yet they had barely laid a hand on him. Luffy slowly approached them, his dull eyes intent on them, and bent on taking them down.

"Damn it... this is looking bad," Zoro panted beside the blonde.

"You think? That rubber bastard is toying with us," Sanji replied and then spit blood to the side, which had been pooling in his mouth. "I hate to say this... but we have to work together if we hope to take him down."

"Agreed..." Zoro replied and glared back at Luffy. "Here he comes..."

Sanji nodded as he prepared for the attack as well as his own. However, Luffy again disappeared, and this time, when he appeared, his stretched arms were wide apart. Before either could react, they were slammed together, their heads ramming into each other, and they both crumpled to the ground like ragdolls.

"Wonderful, my love!" Alvida cried with a wide smirk, and then she sauntered over towards the barrier. "Come, my love. Let us carve out the girl's heart together. I will end your pain and suffering," she said and held her hand out of the barrier to him.

Turning back over to Alvida, Luffy then slowly made his way over to her, and just as slowly, raised his hand to her. Taking his hand, she then pulled him through the barrier and guided him back to Nami.

Robin ran over to both men and dropped to her knees beside them. "Sanji-san... Zoro-san," she called, giving both a shake, "you must wake up," she whispered and looked up towards Luffy and Alvida, who were making their way towards Nami.

"Fuck," Zoro growled, his eyes rolling around and then clenching shut to the horrible pain in his head. "That... stupid... son of a bitch..."

Sanji growled out as he turned to his side and attempted to push himself up. "I'm going to kill that idiot..."

Both men looked up, just as Luffy and Alvida made it to Nami. "Shit... come on," Zoro said, also rolling over to stand. Both staggered to their feet and then stumbled over to the barrier.

"Let Nami-san go, damn it!" Sanji called tiredly and weakly slammed his fist into the barrier.

Ignoring them, Alvida once again offered Luffy her hand, which held the dagger, and Luffy once again covered his hand over hers. Then slowly, Alvida raised their hands together, as well as the dagger, which was aimed right at Nami's heart.

"Don't you dare, you shitty bastard!" Sanji yelled, slamming his fist as hard as he could into the barrier.

"Oi, Luffy! Don't do it!" Zoro yelled, once again trying to cut the barrier.

"No... Luffy... don't..." Nami whispered and shook her head as the dagger was fully raised.

Alvida smirked widely as she chuckled, their arms raised as far as they could go. "Together!" she hissed with a smirk, and then their hands stabbed downward towards Nami.

Outside, lightning cracked and thunder boomed. Nami gasped with a cry as a downpour of tears drenched her cheeks, and her heart gave a painful wrench.

"_No_! _Luffy_!"

**To Be Continued...**

**Authors' Notes:**

Con: Gotta love those cliffhangers. X)

Darth: Bah. I hate them with all my soul, when I'm the one being subjected to them.

Con: Of course you do. :) Who doesn't? But when you're the one making them? X) It's delicious~!

Darth: Indeed. Now if only we could make the wait last longer somehow...

Con: *Plugs nose* I could just not post for a few days... o.,o

Darth: Excellent.

Con: Excellent, indeed. X) Well, until next time... which won't be for a long time. X) Come on! Bring it!

Darth: Not if I can help it.

Con: Mwahahaha~~! XD

Darth: Mwaha.

P.S. from Con: Haha, I remember getting a review a while back of someone predicting it was heart magic, and thinking it lame and cliché. Well, sorry to disappoint, but that's exactly what it was. xD I also received a review for last chapter, which mentioned the fic was rushed, and the reason for the melodrama was lacking. I shall explain. First of all, I think the reasons and reactions were perfectly acceptable. When people are already emotional, and with the rift that was still between them as well as their rocky relationship, I do believe their reactions were reasonable. Besides, when have emotions that harsh ever been rational? People want to think rationally about emotions, when they're not currently experiencing them, but that logical thinking to me, when emotions are involved, are just not practical. It does not apply. You also have to consider the other factors, which stemmed Nami's harsh reaction. Ten years under Arlong's thumb, just to be enslaved all over again? Hell yeah, it's perfectly acceptable for her to be pissed, and what better person to be pissed at, than the person responsible? O.o

Secondly, about it being rushed... well, you'd be correct. It was rushed. I apologize for this, but I'm afraid I couldn't extend it more for you guys. As it was, I wasn't even sure I would have been able to finish this fic. Had I attempted to extend it, I may have been forced to abandon it again. I just wanted to get it done, before I had to abandon it again. Again, I apologize, but there wasn't much I could do about that. I'm pretty much doing this alone. Dart only helps me with the authors' notes, because he's busy with his own things and life. I did, however, try and beef up this chapter for you guys. So, I at least hope you guys appreciate that. :)

Also, during the part where Luffy got taken control if, is the idea I got from the song I listed above, and actually, the part of the song that gave me the idea, is when she sings, "Yeah, I get low... black witches hold my hand... Yeah, I get low... feel no one understands..." Just the way the song slows down and the way it sounds, as well as her words, an idea like this popped into my head, but I had no idea where or how to use it. xD Well, this fic gave me the perfect opportunity to use this idea. :) I hope you guys liked it! Also, sorry for the big cliffy! ;)


	21. Chapter 21: They Feel Happiness

**Authors' Note:**

Con: Mwahahaha! You guys actually thought I'd wait a few days? xD Who do you think I am!? *Is just impatient*

Darth: Hurmph.

Con: Mwahaha! xD What? ~.~

Darth: I liked my plan of making them wait better.

Con: Me too. o.o But I'm too impatient... ~.~

Darth: Sigh, you're such a review harlot.

Con: It's true. o.o I'm a whore.

Darth: Your words, not mine. Well, partially my words, but not exactly my word.

Con: Why should I deny it? o.o I love reviews. They make me happy. ~u~

Darth: They're like crack cocaine.

Con: It's true. Quite the addiction. o.o

Darth: Tsk tsk, so a crack whore at that.

Con: Sure. o.o

Darth: Your word.

Con: Anyways, enjoy the last chapter, you guys. xD Yes, yes I said last chapter. o.o Enjoy it. o.o

Darth: Wait… what?

Con: X)

**Charmed**

**Chapter 21: They Feel Happiness**

A hiss exited through Luffy's lips, and he halted the descent of the blade just a hairs width away from Nami's Heart. His other hand then came up and clutched tightly to his own heart, which hurt him greatly. Alvida cried out to the painful grip he had over her hand as well as the dagger, which dug into her palm. She then scowled up at Luffy and cried, "No! Don't listen to her heart! Listen to mine!"

"Ngh! Haah!" Luffy exclaimed as he stumbled back, pulling Alvida with him, and then both stumbled down the stairs to the ground.

"L-Luffy!" Nami cried, her eyes wide in shock, and her heart was pounding in her fear. She had almost died, and he would have been the one, who killed her.

Slowly losing the glow within his eyes, Luffy looked up towards Nami, but his vision was blurring in and out again. "N... Nami..." he called, pulling himself forward to begin crawling towards her.

"No! Don't listen to her!" Alvida cried, but then sucked in her breath, and then she began to sing a melody. Her own eyes began to glow blue as she sang, and then Luffy winced.

"Ngh-No! Aaah!" he cried and clutched his pained heart. "S-Stop..."

Standing up slowly, Alvida continued to sing, the song itself a whispered incantation, which strengthened the power of her heart's enchantment. "Listen to me now, my love..." she whispered as she made her way to Luffy.

"No, Luffy! Don't listen to her!" Nami cried, though she was confused as she glanced up to Alvida. "What did you do?"

"Stupid girl," Alvida said as she knelt down beside Luffy, who was still fighting the control. "Listen to my heart, my love..."

"Don't! Leave him alone!" Nami cried, another crack of lightning flashing and thunder rumbling. "What did you...?"

Alvida sighed as she looked up at Nami and smirked. "It's the incantation for the Charmed Heart, girl. You really are so stupid... You hold such great power, and yet you have no idea how to use it."

Nami slowly began to frown, looking more and more confused. Incantation for the Charmed Heart? The incantation was a song? Suddenly, her eyes went huge as she gasped. A song! Closing her eyes, Nami then began to hum her own melody; the same melody she always hummed to herself; a melody she had always known, but never the origins of it.

Luffy looked up to her, his eyes again dull, but there was a feint glow to them, and then he whispered. "N... Nami..."

Alvida narrowed her eyes with a scowl and cried, "What are you doing!?" Nami ignored her and continued to hum to herself, forcing herself to relax. "No! You stupid girl!" Alvida cried, but then her lips smirked on one side, and then she began to laugh. "What is this? You're only humming it?" She laughed more and said, "Don't tell me you don't even know the words to your own incantation?"

Nami winced, able to hear her words this time, but she continued to hum. It was true. She didn't know the words to the incantation, but somehow, she had always known the melody. If she knew the melody, then deep down, did she also know the words? Opening her eyes, which were now also glowing blue, she turned her head and looked down at Luffy. "Luffy, please..." she whispered, and again held her fingers out to him. "Please... don't listen to her... Listen to me... Don't let her control you..."

"Shut up, you weak, pathetic girl!" Alvida cried, and then she turned to Luffy. "Listen to me, my love... Listen to my words... to my song... to my heart..." she whispered to him.

"Ngh! Grrraaah!" Luffy exclaimed as his heart clenched painfully, and he closed his eyes tight. He reached up, grabbing at his heart under his robe and shirt, but this time, digging his fingers in and scraping across his skin, which left marks, as if he wanted to tear out his own heart.

"Luffy... please..." Nami whispered as more tears welled within her eyes and fell. He groaned and looked up at her, but soon, his eyes began to fade. "No... No, Luffy!" she cried in a whisper. "Please!" she pleaded as she closed her eyes. She was going to lose him!

Taking deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart, she then began to hum again, though her voice quivered, but then she cried out in frustration, knowing it wasn't good enough. "Please!" she pleaded, to know one knew who. She had to figure this out, and she had to do it now, or she was going to lose him forever, because she would be dead. Keeping her eyes clenched tight, she searched her very soul, seeking the words to her incantation. Forcing her calm, she again began to hum, lulling herself into a trance. As she continued to hum, more of the tune was revealed. And then soon, she took in a soft breath and began to whisper words to a song long lost. Opening her eyes again, the soft glow was back, and then she began to sing louder.

"No..." Alvida whispered, her eyes wide with shock. She had actually brought the song forth. It had taken her _years_ to learn each word for the song of her heart's enchantment. How could this stupid girl do it in just a few short minutes? Her face twisted into a scowl, full of hatred for the girl, and then she screeched, "_N-o_!" Clutching the dagger into her hand again, she scrambled to her feet and ran at Nami with the blade raised high. "I'm going to kill you, you little bitch!" she shrieked and ran out Nami.

However, a hand grabbed her ankle before she could go far, and she fell hard over the stairs with a grunt. Looking behind her, Luffy had fallen to his side and his arm was outstretched with his hand wrapped around her ankle. "Don't!" he rasped, breathlessly.

"Why you...!" Alvida growled, and then she held her palm out towards him. An invisible energy rammed into his chest, sending him flying.

Landing hard on his side with a cry, he slid across the smooth marble and slammed up into the barrier. He then gasped desperately for much needed air. The force of her attack as well as the close range, caused some of his ribs to cave in. He then threw his head back with a pained cry from the intense pain. His entire body hurt beyond comprehension, and he felt as the blackness fought to take him.

"Luffy! No!" Nami cried with a groan within her throat, and then she began struggling against the binds holding her.

Smirking with satisfaction, now that the boy was not getting up again, Alvida turned her attention back to Nami. Scrambling for the dagger, she then got to her feet once again and ran up the few steps to the altar and Nami. "You're going to suffer an eternal hell, bitch!" she screeched and stabbed downward.

"Nami-san!"

However, before the blade could cut into her skin, a hand shot out and clutched the blade. Alvida gasped, gaping at the hand, and soon blood began to dribble down the smooth metal. Looking up to the side, she could see Luffy standing beside her with a deep, angry frown and blue eyes burning bright. Gasping, she jerked away from him, releasing the handle of the blade and falling to the ground. Turning towards her, Luffy tossed the blade, which went sailing through the barrier and sunk into the wood framing the walls. He then began making his way to her slowly.

"Stay away from me!" Alvida cried and scowled up to him as she scrambled away across the marble.

Luffy did not stop his steps towards her, and then he said, "You nearly made me kill her..."

"We could have gotten rid of the cause of your pain! We could have done it together, and then we could have taken over the world!" Alvida screeched, keeping her scowl on him, but she continued to back away from him.

"You think I give a shit about taking over the world? You can never get rid of my pain. It will always be there. You think she's the cause of my pain?" he asked and scowled deeply. "_I'm_ the cause of my pain!"

"Wha-What?" Alvida whispered, looking confused, and she even stopped scooting away, but Luffy kept taking steps towards her.

He stopped just before her, towering over her and looking furious. "I caused my own pain!" he repeated down to her, and then his hand suddenly shot down and clutched the frill of her shirt. He yanked her to her feet and brought her close to his face. "_You_ almost caused me even more pain!"

Alvida shrieked and turned away from him, using her arms to try and block away the intense feelings she was getting from him. "Stop!" she yelled and then tried to shove him away.

"I won't forgive you..." he whispered, and then he pulled back his arm.

"O-Oi, Luffy! Wait a minut-!" Sanji cried, but it was too late, for the rubber mage plowed his fist into the beautiful woman's face without remorse.

Releasing her, the woman went flying, and when she hit the floor, she did not move again. Breathing deeply, Luffy stared after the woman for only a moment before slowly turning back to Nami. Nami struggled against the shackles binding her as she gazed back into his eyes. "Luffy," she whispered, and then closed her eyes tight. She did not want to be bound any longer!

Sluggishly, Luffy made his way back over to her, his feet dragging under him. He felt so weak and tired, he hurt immensely, and blood dripped from his hand to the perfect white marble below, tainting it with its red. "Nami..." he whispered as he neared the altar, but suddenly, he started to lose consciousness and began to drop.

"Luffy!" Nami cried as her eyes shot open, and suddenly, the shackles opened, releasing her. She flew off the altar and to him, catching him just before he hit the marble steps. His arms went around her as well, and both went falling to the steps together. "Luffy," she whispered, nuzzling her nose weakly into his neck. Before she knew it, everything went black, and the two lay unconscious together, with their arms tight around each other.

x x x x

Several hours later, Luffy opened his eyes to unexpected surroundings. He blinked them and realized that he was, in fact, back in his room. "Wha-What?" he whispered and looked about, before his eyes landed on Ace. Last thing he remembered was being with Nami.

"It's nice of you to join me... again..." Ace said, though he wasn't even looking at Luffy. He was hunched over and reading something, but then he did raise his head to look at him.

"Eh...? What happened?"

"Mm... you passed out and were brought home," Ace explained, still looking down at Luffy, but his expression remained expressionless. "And don't worry, Dragon and I will escort Princess Vivi home tomorrow."

"Vivi?" Luffy questioned, looking confused, but then his eyes shot open wide and he attempted to sit up. Nami!" he cried and gasped to the pain that caused him. He then cried out, but clamped his teeth shut, which it then turned into a growl. "Is she...? Where is she? Is she all right?"

Sighing deeply, Ace lowered his eyes, sitting back within his chair, and then he said, "Yeah... about that..."

"What? What happened!? Where is she!?" Luffy exclaimed, looking anxious.

"I... uh... spoke to Gramps... about," Ace started and shifted his eyes to the charm around Luffy's neck, "that ..." he said, nodding to it. "With all the missions she took on with you before coming to the guild, the ones after, being able to help the ghost girl pass on, when no one else could... and helping to take out the Black Witch Alvida, who had a massive bounty on her head, by the way... Gramps declared her debt paid," he said, though his voice was quiet, and he remained quiet still for awhile. Then he sighed again and looked up at Luffy. "She's gone, Luffy..."

"What?" Luffy whispered, and his eyes widened. "W-Wait, what!?" he exclaimed and sat up, but Ace quickly stood to make him lie back down.

"You're still injured, Luffy! You were hurt pretty bad. It took a while for Chopper to fix you up! You need to stay in bed!" Ace exclaimed, struggling to keep the boy down.

"No! She can't be gone!" Luffy exclaimed, still struggling against his brother.

"They went home, Luffy! They left hours ago! They're well on their way already!" Ace yelled, but Luffy shoved him away and climbed out of bed.

"I have to go after her!" Luffy cried as he limped towards his robe and shirt to put them on. He had to talk to her. He had to tell her...

"O-Oi, Luffy! Wait a minute! You can't just go! Besides they're hours away, and you're in no condition to follow!"

"Don't give a shit!" Luffy yelled, stumbling out of his room and to the stables, using the walls to support him. Ace chuckled after his brother, and then he sat back in his chair to continue reading his book.

Once Luffy got to the stables, he got ready to saddle Merry. However, his memory of the past events returned, when he saw Merry's empty stable. His shoulders fell, and those pesky tears found their way to his eyes. "Merry," he whispered and sniffled hard.

The palomino in her stall snorted, looking anxious as she paced back and forth, nodding her head at Luffy to get his attention. Luffy wiped away his tears and looked over at the palomino with a nod. Saddling her instead, he took off after Nami. As if sensing Luffy's need to hurry, the palomino picked up her speed, going faster than she'd ever felt the need to go. She remembered the orange haired girl's tears, when she had come into the stables, perhaps hoping Merry would be there, and the older brother had come in to explain where Merry had been buried. The girl had cared for Merry as much as he had her. So many times the girl had come to visit Merry, and had even brought apples for her as well. She had been a good girl, and if one of her masters wanted to find this girl, than she was going to give her all to help him.

Luffy hoped that the direction he was headed in was the one they were taking home. With the head start they had, it would still take him a while to catch up to her. He had to catch her. He had to tell her... that she'd been right all along.

Dragon looked out of the window below, watching as his son rode off out of the stables and was gone, the speed of a magic horse comparing to no other. His lips curved into a smile, and he said, "He's gone..."

"Good!" Garp said, his lips curving into a smirk. "It's about damned time!"

"You can be a cruel man sometimes..."

"The idiot needed to learn his lesson! He shouldn't have gone off, taking jobs in the condition he was in! It _was_ his damned fault that the girl didn't pay him, and even so, we can't have people not paying us! She had to suffer, because he was an idiot! And then to top it all off, the idiot'd gone and fallen in love with the girl!" Garp exclaimed and snorted loudly in his dissatisfaction. "Then he went off making a deal with her, thinking he could fix it. I made the girl work more to teach him his own lesson, and of course, to hold the reputation of our guild. I never intended to keep her here long . She'd suffered enough after all..."

"Indeed..." Dragon drawled quietly, still looking in the direction of where Luffy had gone, "and the reason you sent her home?"

"So the idiot would go after her..." Garp said and snorted loudly as he plugged a nostril with a pinky.

Dragon's smile grew as he chuckled softly and said, "A cruel man indeed..."

x x x x

Nami kept her head lowered, thinking maybe it was better this way. After all... the old man had told her to go home. She still wasn't sure, anyways, how Luffy felt, even if he had tried his hardest to get her back from that woman. She had also had to quell her sister, who continually asked if she was sure she wanted to leave. She had told her each time, it was better this way.

As they rode, she made herself raise her chin up. The old man had even given her some payment for giving Luffy the charm, and she even had the gold Luffy had given her. With the gold, minus what Nojiko and Gen had to spend to find her as well as the gold they had to spend on the journey home, they would be able to rebuild their village.

Finally, after several hours, Luffy managed to catch up to her group. He wanted to talk to her, but... he didn't really want to see anyone else in her group. "Nami!" he called out to her.

Gasping loudly, Nami stiffened a bit, her heart jumping in her chest from hearing him call her, and then it started pounding away sporadically. Looking behind her quickly, she could see him riding towards them on the palomino. "Luffy," she whispered, stopping the horse she was riding and turning it slightly to the side.

Ahead of Nami, Gen quickly turned at Luffy's call and snorted. So, the boy had actually come...

"I need to talk to you," Luffy said, riding up to her and breathing heavily. He was in a great deal of pain, and he was sure he did not get much rest at all, the entire time he had been unconscious, or at least, not enough.

Biting her lip, she lowered her eyes for a moment as her cheeks flushed a bit, but then she looked over towards the others. Gen looked away with a snort, as if saying, it was all right, but he still wasn't all that happy about it. Nojiko just smiled to her sister and nodded.

"Alone?" Luffy asked tentatively, the vulnerable feeling unnerving him.

Turning back to him, her heart still pounding relentlessly, she finally nodded and dismounted her horse. She then turned and walked back down the road a bit, away from the others. Luffy also jumped off the palomino, nearly collapsing, but he managed to follow after her, his heart thudding.

After awhile, she finally stopped and turned to him. "What do you want, Luffy?"

Even though they were some distance away, Gen could still hear some of what was being said, and so he turned towards them. Nojiko frowned at them, uncertain of what she wanted to happen. She was almost certain she knew why he was there. What she did not know was what Nami's reaction would be.

"So," Luffy started, feeling so nervous, and then he took a deep breath, "you paid off your debt?"

She could not help herself from rolling her eyes, but at the same time, she wanted to smile. She refused, however, and instead said, "What does it look like, you idiot? As if we could have left without your grandfather permission. As I recall... the man who took down a dragon with his bare hands..."

"Yeah," he replied and cleared his throat, feeling more like an idiot in that moment than all of his life. He knew what he wanted to say, but he couldn't bring himself to say it, "but... what about trying to figure out your ability... and figuring out how to break the curse on me?"

She swallowed hard, lulling her head to the side and shifting her eyes thus, so she didn't have to look at him. "I did my part... about helping you sleep, when I gave you that charm. The rest is up to you. As far as my abilities go, I have the book that that woman had. It... explains all about my ability and how to learn to control it. Your grandfather said I was no longer needed... and to go home. I had nothing holding me there anymore," she said quietly, knowing her words were cold and hurtful, but she was too scared to admit the truth.

He blinked, forcing back tears from even starting to form, and then he whispered, "I see... So... you're just leaving then?"

She frowned then, but she refused to look at him still, because her eyes had begun to water. "Are you stupid!? What does it look like!? We were already on our way there before you stopped us, you idiot!" she said, finally turning to look at him with her glossy eyes. "Is there anything else you want from me!? You've taken quite a bit already!" she said, trying hard not to let those tears fall.

Gen closed his eyes slowly, looking away now. He knew Nami was too stubborn to say anything, and from what he knew about the brat, he was just as stubborn. It looked like it wasn't meant to be then. It was sad, but it didn't matter, because he didn't like the brat much anyways.

"You're right," Luffy said, looking down at the ground. "I am an idiot. Everything that's happened, it's been my fault, for causing all this mess in the first place. Taking a job I shouldn't have, ruining your village, kidnapping you, all because of my inability to do the job right..." He took a deep breath and looked up at her. "I'm blame myself, but I don't regret any of it, because... because I was not only able to meet you, but I was also able to spend time with you, and because of that I got to know you." He blinked, the tears were really threatening to spill now. "Of course... you were right about it coming back around on me, because it did...and..." he blinked again, "and it's no less than I deserve."

Nojiko gasped. Could he possibly be...?

Nami began to frown deeply, but slowly, her heart managing to pound harder. "What... What the hell are you talking about?" she asked, more tears beginning to form, which were threatening to push the previous ones out, and she was trying so hard to swallow down. However, she gasped, remembering the words she'd spoken to him the day he'd first taken her.

_"You're not going to get away with this..." she managed to whisper as her throat closed. "One day... it's going to come back around on you... You just watch..."_

"_We'll see when that happens." _

"I... I took away your freedom... after having given it back to you in the first place," Luffy continued, and then he took a deep breath. He couldn't do it, but he had to. Otherwise, he'd regret it for the rest of his life. "It really did come around to bite me in the ass, because," he said, but his voice quivered with his nervousness as well as the emotions he was feeling, "because I fell in love with the one person in the world, who hates me the most." He was shaking, losing control of his composure even, his eyes the last part of him that were kept under control, as a single tear dropped down to his cheek. He was breathing heavily, uncontrolled gasps from how hard he held it all in, and this caused him even more, unbearable pain.

Nami's eyes slowly grew wider in shock, trying to let what he'd just said sink in all the way. He was in love with her. More tears quickly began to build and fall down her face. Her heart ached, and then she shook her head. "You really are an idiot ..." she whispered softly, though her voice quivered with emotion as she smiled. She then stepped forward, grabbing both his ears roughly in each of her hands and pulling him towards her, pressing her lips against his. Her heart soared at the contact, causing her lips to curve up into a bigger smile.

Gen snorted loudly at this before looking away again, but only to hide the slight glisten in his eyes. The dumb brat had really done it. Nojiko smiled, clapping her hands together once and silently cheering them on. Sanji scoffed, looking away, but then glancing back at the couple for just a moment.

Luffy went into shock when she kissed him. Was she really...? However, it did not take long for his shock to subside, and for him to realize, she really was kissing him. Instinctively, he returned the kiss, his arms cautiously sliding around her back.

Feeling his arms tentatively wrap around her, she let go of his ears and slid her own arms around his neck to pull herself closer against him. It had been so long since the last time she had been this close to him. She had really missed the contact with him and the feeling it had given her; the warmth and safety, but now... she also felt loved.

Luffy blinked, when she pressed her body up against his, suddenly feeling incredibly tired. His body slumped over hers, and then he started snoring softly, but then shook himself out of it.

It started at the pit of her stomach, as she erupted into giggles and then full blown laughter as she sunk down with him, cradling him in her arms tightly. Turning back to them, Gen couldn't help the soft smile that touched his lips. It had been a long time since he'd heard her laughter.

"I'm awake," Luffy muttered sleepily, blinking his eyes open.

Her laughter turned to deep giggles within her throat as she looked down at him, tears still in her eyes, and then she asked, "Still not caught up yet?"

"Almost there," he said, breathlessly, and then he grinned, "and soon, I'll be able to take on that dragon!"

She burst into laughter again and said, "You are still going on about that dragon?"

He nodded enthusiastically and said, "Of course! Right now, I feel like I could do anything!"

She chuckled, her smile softening, and then she leaned down to kiss him again. She felt so incredibly happy, and her heart swelled again with that pleasant feeling. Luffy returned the kiss, feeling all the more happy for the unexpected result of his harrowing confession. He reached up and cupped the side of her face, brushing his thumb against her cheek as he deepened the kiss.

Blinking in confusion, Gen reached up to touch his fingers to his heart, and then he smiled warmly. She really was happy. Nojiko blinked away her tears and smiled, pressing her hand to her heart as well. Nami was happy, and so was she; incredibly happy for her sister.

After awhile, Nami pulled back only slightly, still smiling, but then she lost some of it and whispered, "I still have to go home though, Luffy. We need to rebuild, and we have the money to do it now," she said, reaching up to gently run her hand down the side of his face.

"I'll go with you," he said and grinned sleepily. "I can help rebuild. It's only right, since I destroyed most of it in the first place."

She blinked down at him a bit and asked, "You really want to?"

"Of course I do, Nami," Luffy replied and nodded emphatically.

She slowly began to smile warmly as tears came to her eyes, and then she said, "Thank you, Luffy."

"You're welcome," he said, pecking her on the lips.

x x x x

It took a few months to finally get the village rebuilt. Luffy helped every step of the way, while the women cooked for the men, who worked and brought them water. Nami had flushed quite a bit, since Luffy had pretty much worked shirtless the majority of the time with the rest of the men, though she had gotten jealous a few times, when other woman had made the mistake of ogling him. Quite a few storms had to be averted.

Ace had come only a few weeks into the building and even helped out. He also informed them of the goings on in the guild, especially about Zoro and Robin spending more time around each other, though it was mostly spent in silence. He, too, went shirtless and many of the women then began to ogle him, which stirred some trouble with Nojiko. Luffy enjoyed having his brother there, and the two had fun together as they rebuilt the town. However, after two months, the palomino had gotten sick, and so Ace was forced to take her back to the guild. Luffy was a bit bummed, and apparently, so was Nojiko.

It had actually been fun rebuilding the village. Luffy had joked to Nami, that it was double fun, breaking the city and then rebuilding it, then breaking it again... She hadn't appreciated his sense of humor very much, but, best of all, he'd been able to spend time around her.

However, Nami was glad that they had patched up their rough relationship, and she had actually just gone back to sleeping with him, instead of him using the charm. Not only did he sleep better, but she also did too. It had been very nice to finally get a full night's sleep, doubly so, since they slept cuddled close together. After they had rebuilt the village, they had decided to set back for the guild, leaving Gen this time. Nojiko declared she wanted to stay with Nami, though Nami was beginning to think it had more to do with Ace. However, when they got back, they had a pleasant surprise awaiting them. Ace had just told them, that the palomino horse was pregnant.

Luffy frowned on hearing that, looking confused, and then he asked, "Wait... what?" He blinked, his eyes widening. "How?"

Ace gave a small smirk and said, "Only one stallion who could have done that."

Tears came to Nami's eyes as she smiled, bringing her hands to her mouth. "Merry ..." she whispered softly and began to laugh softly.

A grin split Luffy's face, and his own tears formed. "How much longer?" he asked, excited to see Merry's foal.

"Well... a horse remains pregnant for eleven months. It's been six and a half already. I'm guessing the sly dog got to her, when you were trying to take Vivi back home," Ace said with a soft chuckle.

"Can we see her?" Nami asked, feeling emotional, yet happy all at the same time.

"Of course. She's out in the stables still, though she's been isolated," Ace said, nodding towards the stables.

"So that's what they were doing," Luffy said, walking towards the stables with Nami. He shuddered. He was incredibly happy, but didn't like that his mind tried to fill in the blank of the conception.

"Ah, yeah," Nami said, flushing a bit, but her smile was wide as they entered the stables, and she looked around for the palomino horse. "Oh, there she is!"

At hearing Nami's voice, the mare lifted her head, bobbing her head enthusiastically and happy to see them both as she neighed softly.

Luffy smiled and ran up to pet the horse's nose. "How are you feeling, pretty girl?"

She snorted softly, nuzzling his hand before nudging his head and shoulder affectionately. Nami stepped up to hug her, but then stepped back and asked in a whisper, wanting to make sure, "Is it really Merry's?" The mare gave a single and soft nod, looking as if she might have been smiling. Tears instantly sprang into Nami's eyes and fell. "Ooh... that's wonderful," she breathed, burying her face into her neck. "Merry ..." she whispered, crying silently into her soft fur.

"Good girl," Luffy whispered and smiled, scratching behind the palomino's ears. He placed a hand on Nami's shoulder, hugging her from the side.

Nami moved to Luffy then, hugging him tightly and burying her face into his neck. "I miss him..."

"Me too," he whispered in reply, rubbing his cheek into her hair.

"I can't wait... I can't wait to see their young," she said, finally pulling back to smile, and then she looked over to the palomino, who had been nuzzling her back softly.

x x x x

The rest of the months flew by quickly, and Luffy had declared there was no need to search for a counter spell to his no sleeping curse. Nami would always be by his side to help him sleep, and when the day came, that she could no longer be there for him, then he told Nami, he would soon join her after. However, if he were to go before her, then they really didn't need to worry about it. Now, it was finally time for the birth of Merry's and the palomino's young. Nami paced outside of the stables, waiting to be admitted to see, and Luffy leaned against the stable wall, his foot tapping nervously. He was trying to be calm, but it wasn't working.

After awhile, the young boy, Chopper finally stepped out with a bright smile. "Everything went just fine!" he said, leaving the door open. "She's just as anxious to show you their children."

"Ah? Children?" Nami asked, before her face broke into a bright smile, but then she blinked, "Ah? How do you know?"

"Ah, that's great!" Luffy said and turned to Nami. "Chopper has the ability to talk to animals. He's not human. That's how he knows, and he's in charge of taking care of the horses and other animals in the guild, but he's also a doctor too!"

Nami's smile froze, just staring back at Luffy, and then she asked, "N-N-Not... human?" She then looked over to a grinning... She shrieked.

"Ah, sorry!" the reindeer said as he hopped behind a bale of hay, but then stepped out backwards, though he was still hiding.

Luffy burst into laughter and said, "Chopper's a magic reindeer! However, he can make himself look human! It's a part of his magic!"

"Whoa!" Nami exclaimed, still gaping at Chopper in shock. However, she soon began to laugh as she stepped over toward Chopper. "That's incredible!"

Slowly, Chopper clopped out of his hiding spot and smiled to Nami, even like that. He then began dancing from side to side. "Your compliments don't make me happy at all, idiot!" He then shifted back to his human form with a grin and said, "Anyways, you can go in now."

"Thank you, Chopper! You're the best!" Nami said, kissing his cheek and making the young boy blush.

He again began to dance around with a big smile and said, "That still doesn't make me happy at all, you asshole!"

Nami just laughed and headed inside towards the beautiful mare. "Thanks, Chopper," Luffy said, following Nami into the stable.

When they entered, the palomino lifted her head, giving a soft snort from where she lay, two foal laying by her side, "Ooh," Nami breathed, tears coming to her eyes as she covered her mouth with her hands. "They're beautiful," she whispered, kneeling beside them, both turning their little heads to look at them.

"Aww," Luffy said, affected by the adorableness of it all, and then he knelt down besides Nami. "They're so cute!"

Nami giggled, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "So are you~!" she said and then turned back to the two foal, who tried to stand, though they were wobbly. "Look," Nami said pointed to the palomino colt, he's a boy... and this one is a girl."

"Eh?" Luffy said and blinked. "How can you tell?" He looked closer. "Oh..."

She snickered with a smirk and said, "Exactly!"

He reached out and petted the boy on the head. "You really are Merry's children, aren't you?" The foal stared up at him, not understanding a word of what he was saying. Luffy smiled and blinked back tears. "So," Luffy said and looked between them, "what are we going to call you two?"

Seeing Luffy's tears, Nami's own eyes filled with them as she smiled softly, looking over towards the foal. "Well .. let's see," she said, looking thoughtful and between each foal.

Luffy took the small animal in his arms, and smiled teary eyed down at him. "He's so bright and yellow... so sunny... That's who you are... Sunny."

"Sunny?" Nami asked, laughing softly as her tears fell, and then she looked over to the little white foal. She pulled her into her lap, as the little foal looked up into Nami's face. "You're like a little mini Merry, aren't you?"

"Mini..." Luffy said and smiled at Nami as well as the other foal. Sunny licked his face, and he smiled down at the baby horse. He looked up at the palomino. "You must feel proud, huh, Strawhat?"

The mother nodded her head enthusiastically with a soft snort before going down to nuzzle her babies. "Ah? Strawhat?" Nami asked, blinking at Luffy blankly.

"I was young when I named her..." Luffy muttered, blushing.

Nami brought her knuckles to her lips with a smile and said, "That's adorable. What made you call her that?"

"Well..." he muttered and looked up at the mare, "she kinda looks like straw... and I remember seeing this strawhat on the head of a red haired and powerful mage I once admired and awed... So..."

"Oh, I see," she said with a soft giggle. "It suits her." And Strawhat nuzzled Luffy's head, as if to tell him she liked her name just fine.

"We call her Straw, for short," Luffy smiled, petting Strawhat's muzzle.

"All right, Strawhat. It's nice to finally learn your name and officially meet you. I was... very distracted at first to learn it, and just didn't realize I didn't know it this whole time," she said, reaching over to pet the mare, and she licked Nami's hand slightly to tell her that it was all right.

"Shishishi! This is awesome! So, we have Sunny and Mini Merry!" Luffy said with a big grin on his face.

"That's right. I love these names," Nami said and chuckled softly as Mini Merry gave her cheek a lick.

"Shishishi, me too!"

"I like them too," Ace said, leaning against the stable door with a smirk.

Nojiko chuckled, standing beside him, and then she said, "They're good, strong names."

"Agreed!" Luffy said, his grin plastered to his face. He was ecstatic. He was sure, he had never been this happy before, and he had once thought, he would never be happy again. He had Nami, and now Merry and Strawhat's young to help raise. Life was good. "I'm happy," he whispered, petting over Sunny's head.

"Me too," Nami whispered, smiling to him softly. "Thank you, Luffy."

Looking up to her now, Luffy smiled and said, "Never thought I'd hear you thank me for destroying your village and kidnapping you."

Bursting into giggles, she smiled brightly and said, "Not for that... Well, I suppose it's a part of it, but... I meant... for everything you've done for me, and... and for coming after me. I never should have left."

"You had every right to. I didn't deserve you, Nami. It's me, who should thank you. Thank you, Nami... for loving me anyway, even after all the pain I caused you," he muttered and flushed deeply as he looked down in his shyness.

"I do love you, Luffy, and from now on, we'll be happy. No more pain," Nami whispered, smiling to him with the love she felt for him.

Nodding his head, he gazed up at her through his lashes and whispered, "No more pain... only happiness..."

"That's right," she whispered as she leaned towards him, closing her lips in towards him.

"Only happiness..."

**The End...**

**Authors' Note:**

Con: D'aww~! All the fluff~! I can't hear anymore... ~.o *Picks fluff from her ear* Anyways, hope you guys liked the ending. xD

Darth: You heard it right, there's no more after this.

Con: Yup, it's all over... The end... Game over... Game over, man...

Darth: So go away now.

Con: Yes, go away... Shoo... o.o But leave reviews! :D Aww, I can't say, "Until next time," anymore. :( This makes me kind of sad... Kind of...

Darth: Maybe we'll write something later.

Con: Maybe... *Picks nose*... So... until next time! xD

Darth: Later.


End file.
